Bamboo cups are not environmentally friendly at all

浙江寧波市鄞州高級中學 彭文國

現在人們都非常喜歡使用環保的產品，比如竹纖維杯。 但令人驚訝的是，竹纖維杯并沒有我們想象中的那么環保。 讓我們一起到文章中一探究竟吧！

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難詞探意

1. mug /mΛɡ/ n. 杯子

2. evaporate /??v?p?re?t/ v. （使）蒸發

For many people, food and drinks containers made from bamboo seem like a good choice because they are considered environmentally friendly. Bamboo is the fastest-growing plant on the planet, so there's no shortage of sustainable material. Plus, bamboo containers are reusable and can, therefore,replace the disposable containers used by coffee shops and other food and drink outlets.

However, a recent test by the consumer group that investigates and compares goods on the German market, has shown that by shifting to a bamboo cup you might be risking your health in the process. Having tested 12 different bamboo cup brands, Stiftung Warentest, a German consumer organization and foundation, found that buyers are generally given the impression that they are buying natural products. With descriptions such as “bamboomug” or “made from bamboo fibers”, producers cover the fact that the cups are made from a powder of bamboo fibers that are then glued together. All of the cups tested contained melamine resin (蜜胺樹脂), a glue made from formaldehyde（甲醛） and melamine.

As reported by Food Packaging Forum, the International Agency for Research on Cancer has also recently classified melamine as being “possibly carcinogenic （致癌的） to humans”. Still, as long as certain conditions are met, melamine resin is not considered a dangerous substance. One of these conditions, however, is that it is kept under 70 °C. But these bamboo cups are being specifically marketed for hot drinks. The Stiftung Warentest testers did the tests where common hot coffee was added into the cups. The results showed that four of the twelve cups contained “very high amounts of melamine”after the third filling. In three of the other cups, this occurred after the seventh filling. The results were sometimes higher after the seventh test, suggesting that the harmful chemicals don't evaporatebut continue to spread into drinks with prolonged use.

Stiftung Warentest also criticized the manufacturers for not properly warning about the dangers of placing the bamboo cups in the microwave. When heated to high temperatures, the cup's material will begin to break up. As the cup's surface is destroyed, it will release even more melamine and formaldehyde.

Language

Study

Useful words in scientific articles

sustainable 可持續的

reusable 可以重復使用的

disposable 用后即丟棄的；一次性的

investigate 調查；研究

process 過程

product 產品；結果

classify 劃分；界定

manufacturer 制造商

release 釋放

Reading

Check

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