One year later, plastic bag use is down--but by no means gone in China

    限塑令在中國頒布一年後，塑料袋的使用減少了--但遠非一去不複返。

    Does Banning Plastic Bags Work?

    Thin plastic bags are the ultimate throwaway item. Used once to tote groceries, the thin white bags often go on to second lives as permanent pollution and an eyesore. So a host of countries, cities and other governments have banned them or forced consumers to pay for them. The largest such country, by far, was China.

    The regulations went into effect last June before the Olympics and the track record is mixed. Bai si wu ran or "white pollution" seems to have visibly declined but that may have more to do with tidying up garbage than any ban.

    Even government officials admit the thinnest plastic bags, which were banned outright, are still in use, particularly in remote areas. Small workshops that churn out the contraband bags are easy to set up and hard to police. Small vendors, for their part, seem to think that the rule is no longer enforced and hand them out even in Beijing.

    Yet, a survey by the International Food Packaging Association found that the number of plastic bags making their way into garbage had declined by 10 percent over the last year and the Chinese government claimed that supermarkets alone reduced such bag use by 66 percent-some 40 billion fewer plastic bags to get caught in trees, riverbanks or elsewhere. The ultimate hope of the Chinese authorities is for the bags that are used to be recycled.

    Plastic bags may not disappear anytime soon but they're getting harder to spot.

    限塑令有效果嗎？

    薄(bo)塑(su)料(liao)袋(dai)最(zui)終(zhong)是(shi)被(bei)丟(diu)棄(qi)的(de)東(dong)西(xi)。這(zhe)種(zhong)薄(bo)薄(bo)的(de)白(bai)色(se)袋(dai)子(zi)僅(jin)僅(jin)在(zai)購(gou)買(mai)日(ri)用(yong)雜(za)貨(huo)的(de)時(shi)候(hou)使(shi)用(yong)一(yi)次(ci)，而(er)後(hou)就(jiu)成(cheng)為(wei)永(yong)久(jiu)性(xing)的(de)汙(wu)染(ran)和(he)礙(ai)眼(yan)物(wu)了(le)。因(yin)此(ci)很(hen)多(duo)國(guo)家(jia)
、城市以及政府部門禁止使用塑料袋，或者強迫消費者在使用的時候付錢，中國就是其中最大的限塑令國家。

    限塑令在去年奧運會之前的6月份開始生效，其效果是喜憂參半。"白色汙染"似乎明顯減少了，但是這可能更多的歸於對垃圾箱的清理而非限塑令。

    連lian政zheng府fu官guan員yuan也ye承cheng認ren
，被bei禁jin的de最zui薄bo的de塑su料liao袋dai仍reng然ran在zai使shi用yong之zhi中zhong
，尤you其qi是shi在zai偏pian遠yuan地di區qu。生sheng產chan這zhe種zhong違wei禁jin塑su料liao袋dai的de小xiao作zuo坊fang很hen容rong易yi建jian立li起qi來lai，對dui其qi監jian控kong也ye很hen難nan。小xiao商shang販fan似si乎hu認ren為wei限xian塑su令ling不bu再zai有you效xiao了le，他ta們men甚shen至zhi在zai北bei京jing兜dou售shou。

    不過
，國際食品包裝協會（International Food Packaging Association）的一項調查發現，在過去的一年裏，進入垃圾桶的塑料袋的數量下降了10%,中國政府稱僅超市中塑料袋的使用就減少了66%--減少的塑料袋約有400億個，而人們經常會在樹上、河邊或者其它地方發現這些被棄塑料袋。中國當局的最終目標是使用可循環利用的塑料袋。

    塑料袋可能不會在短期內很快消失，但是對它們的使用越來越少了。

    Vocabulary:

    Ban:禁止；禁令

    Ultimate:最終的

    Tote:攜帶，搬運

    Groceries:食品雜貨

    Permanent:最終的

    Eyesore:令人厭惡的東西

    Regulation:規定

    Decline:下降

    Garbage:垃圾

    Outright:徹底地

    Remote:偏遠的

    Churn out: （粗製濫造地）大量生產

    Contraband:違禁品

    Police:（動詞）監控

    Vendor:商販

    Survey:調查

    Billion:十億

    Recycle:循環