跟塑料袋拜拜——中國對塑料垃圾宣戰

The trash mountains in China's major cities are about to get considerably smaller， following a State Council resolution banning the use of flimsy plastic bags.

中國大城市中的垃圾山這回可要“瘦身”了，因為國務院頒布了限制使用塑料袋的法令。

The ban， which comes into effect on June 1st， is another step forward in the Government's plan to host a \"Green Olympics\" when the Games come to Beijing in August.

該法令將于6月1日生效，是中國政府為了創造8月份的“綠色奧運”而頒布的新舉措。

Beijing， which employs an army of rubbish collectors and recyclers， is trying desperately to improve its image before the eyes of the world fall on the city. Along with initiatives to get rid of the city's smog and to beat the \"Four Evils\" – spitting， swearing， smoking and shoving – Beijing has launched several large recycling drives and public awareness campaigns to try and beat the litter. So， as part of this drive towards a greener Beijing， plastic bags have to go.

北京政府招募了大批的垃圾清潔工清掃垃圾，期望在全球注目的那一刻徹底改變城市的形象。在積極地處理大氣污染和掃除“四害”（吐痰、說臟話、吸煙和橫穿馬路）的同時，北京也發起了多項回收垃圾以及引起公眾意識的活動。因此，作為創造綠色北京的必備條件，塑料袋必須消失。

China's plastic bag consumption – the largest in the world – means that at present the country uses 37 million barrels of oil per year just to meet demand. One report even mentions that China \"uses over 3 billion shopping bags a day\"- That's the equivalent of EVERYONE in the country using two new shopping bags daily!

目前，中國是世界上塑料袋消費最大的國家，這就意味著為了滿足需求中國每年要消耗掉3.7千萬桶油。有報道甚至稱中國“每天能用掉30億塑料購物袋”——這相當于每個中國人每天用2個塑料袋！

In a global economy rapidly running out of resources， China's ban is being heralded as a responsible， and much-needed， environmental policy. Christopher Flavin， president of Worldwatch Institute， a Washington-based environmental research group， claimed that \"China is ahead of the US with this policy.\"

在全球經濟快速消耗能源的今天，中國的這一舉措將吹響保護環境責任重大的號角。世界觀察研究所（總部在華盛頓的環境研究組織）主席克里斯托夫#8226;夫拉文聲稱：“該舉措讓中國領先于美國。”

Environmental campaigners Greenpeace echoed his sentiments， releasing a statement saying: \"The State Council's announcement to ban free plastic bags is a perfect case to combine two of the major forces in environment protection: public participation and government policy guidance.\"

綠色和平組織也贊同中國的這一做法，發表聲明說：“中國國務院頒布限制使用塑料袋的規定將保護環境的兩大力量恰當地聯系起來：公眾參與和政府引導。”

The ban was announced on the Government's web site on December 31st 2007， and includes rules and regulations for the sale and disposal of plastic bags. Companies caught breaking the rules face heavy fines， and rubbish collectors and disposal firms are encouraged to make greater efforts to recycle the plastic bags they collect， rather than burning or burying them.

這項禁令于2007年12月31日發布在政府的官方網站上，禁令中對銷售和處理塑料垃圾的行為進行了限定和約束。違反規定的公司須接受巨額罰款，而環衛公司也需盡最大努力回收垃圾而不是以焚燒或填埋的方式處理垃圾。

\"Our country consumes a large amount of plastic bags. While convenient for consumers， the bags also lead to a severe waste of resources and environmental pollution because of their excessive use and low rate of recycling，\" the statement at governmental web site www.gov.cn said. \"The ultra-thin bags are the main source of 'white' pollution as they can easily get broken and end up as litter.\"

“我國塑料袋消費量龐大。雖然塑料袋給消費者帶來了便利，但由于使用量過多，回收率過低，塑料袋使用也造成了資源浪費和環境污染，”中國政府在官網上如是說，“另外，極易破損而成為垃圾的超薄塑料袋還是‘白色’污染的主要來源?！?br>