彻底禁用塑料无助环保

An outright ban on plastics could cause even more harm to the environment and lead to triple the amount of greenhouse gas emissions.

That’s the finding of experts from Herriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, who say that replacing plastic with alternate materials such as metal and glass won’t help the environment.

The team say this is because the manufacturing of these replacements could double global energy consumption.

Resources required to process these replacement materials would lead to more energy consumption and more greenhouse gas.

Campaigners have called for reductions or bans, with recent programs such as the BBC’s “Blue Planet” highlighting the impact of plastics on the world’s oceans.

But the team of 40 academics said arguments surrounding a reduction or ban are “often shortsighted and not based on facts.”

The waste products produced when making metal and glass are all bad for the environment.

The major environmental impact of glass and metal production is caused by atmospheric emissions from melting activities.

The combustion of natural gas or fuel oil and the decomposition of raw materials during the melting lead to the emission of CO2.

Professor David Bucknall, who led the research, said that transportation of consumer goods in plastic packaging means fewer vehicles because plastic is lightweight.

Therefore it requires burning less fuel, greatly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The academics, drawing expertise from engineering, science, economics and social science, said there needs to be a “circular economy” for plastic usage.

“Almost everything we touch or interact with on a daily basis is made of or contains a plastic of some description,” said Professor David Bucknall, chairman in materials chemistry from the university’s Institute of Chemical Sciences.

“Banning or reducing their use would have a massive impact on the way we live.

“In many cases there is no credible alternative to using a plastic so we need to move towards a ‘circular economy’ for plastics, rather than the largely ‘make-use-dispose’ model we currently adopt.”

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【完全地】wánquán de

outright complete or total

【燃烧】

ránshāo combustion

the act or process of burning

完全禁用塑料可能对环境造成更大的危害，导致温室气体排放量增加至之前的三倍。

这是爱丁堡赫里奥特-瓦特大学的专家得出的结论。专家表示，用金属和玻璃等替代材料取代塑料并不会有益环境。

研究小组表示，这是因为制造这些替代品可能使全球能源消耗增加一倍。

加工这些替代材料所需的资源将产生更多的能源消耗和温室气体。

环保人士呼吁减少或禁用塑料，英国广播公司《蓝色星球》等近期的电视节目也重点强调了塑料对海洋的影响。

研究小组表示，减少或禁用塑料的观点“往往缺乏远见，也缺乏事实依据”。该小组由40名学者组成。

制造金属和玻璃的过程中产生的废品都对环境有害。

制造玻璃和金属对环境的主要影响是由熔化过程中产生的大气排放造成的。

熔化过程中天然气或燃油的燃烧和原材料的分解会排放二氧化碳。

研究负责人大卫•巴克内尔教授说，运输塑料包装的消费品使用的车辆更少，因为塑料很轻。因此需要燃烧的燃料更少，能够极大地减少温室气体排放。

研究学者们吸取了来自工程学、科学、经济学和社会科学领域的专家意见，并提出，塑料的使用需要遵循“循环经济”。

大卫•巴克内尔教授说：“我们每天接触或使用的几乎所有物品都由塑料制成、或者含有某种形式的塑料。”他是赫里奥特-瓦特大学化学科学学会材料化学组的主席。

“减少或禁用塑料会对我们的生活方式造成很大影响。”

“在很多情况下，没有可靠的材料来替代塑料的使用，所以塑料的使用需要遵循‘循环经济’，而不是我们现在广泛采用的‘用后即弃’模式。”

(Chinadaily.com.cn)