毫无疑问，塑料袋让我们的生活变得方便快捷。然而，在享受这种便捷的同时，你是否也在制造着花费一百年都无法从地球上消失白色垃圾呢？

30-Day Plastic Bag Diet

Please do not worry-this is not a fad1) diet to lose weight! Plastic bags have no nutritious value! This diet is about kicking the habit of excessively2) relying on plastic bags.

Plastic shopping bags are among the most widespreadconsumer items on Earth. Their light weight, low cost, and water resistance3) make them so convenient for carrying groceries, clothing, and other daily purchases that it's hard to imagine life without them. Weighing just a few grams and averaging a few millimeters in thickness, plastic bags might seem thoroughly harmless-were it not for the sheer4) number produced. Factories around the world churned out5) trillions of6) them every year.

请别担心--这可不是流行的减肥节食！塑料袋可没有营养价值！这里所说的节食是指改掉过度依赖塑料袋的习惯。

塑料购物袋是地球上最常见的消费品之一。它重量轻，成本低，还防水，这些优点使它们便于携带杂货、衣服，以及其他日常商品，很难想象没有它们的生活会是什么样子。如果不是产量巨大，那些重量仅几克，平均厚度仅几毫米的塑料袋怎么看都好像是无害的。每年，全世界的工厂都会生产出成千上万亿个塑料袋。

Compared with paper bags, producing plastic ones uses less energy and water and leaves less air pollution and solid waste. Plastic bags also take up less space in a landfill. But many of these bags never make it to landfills; instead, they go airborne after they are thrown-getting caught in fences, trees, gutters, waterways, even the throats of birds. To avoid these impacts, the best alternative is to reuse your own durable cloth bags.

It's okay to have a few plastic bags and to reuse plastic bags as much as possible. The goal is to simply use less of them. If you can reduce your usage down to only several plastic bags per year, then consider yourself a successful bagonaut7). Go 30 days applying the following steps, which will make it easy for you and in no time you will be doing it automatically!

与纸袋相比，生产塑料袋所消耗的能量和水更少，产生的空气污染更小，固体垃圾更少，塑料袋在垃圾填埋场所占空间也更小。然而，很多塑料袋根本就没有送到垃圾填埋场，相反，它们在被丢弃后"随风逐流"--结果挂在了篱笆上、树上，或者堵塞下水道和排水渠，甚至被鸟类误食卡在喉咙里。为了避免这些后果，最好的替代方法就是重新开始使用你自己的耐用布袋。

准备几个塑料袋并尽可能地反复使用也是可以的。目的很简单，就是更少地使用它们。如果你可以把每年所用的塑料袋减少到几个，那么就能叫自己"环保袋达人"了。用一个月去实施下列步骤，它们将助你一臂之力，很快你就会习惯成自然！

Step 1: Round up8)!

The very first thing you want to do is to collect all of your plastic bags. You may want to keep a few for special occasions when plastic is helpful-all plastic bags are not bad-just using too many of them can be! Take the rest in for recycling.

第1步：围捕"嫌犯"！

你要做的第一件事就是把家里所有的塑料袋都找出来。你可以留下几个以备不时之需--并不是所有的塑料袋都不好--只是过量使用才导致不可收拾！其余的环保回收。

Step 2: Choose Reusable Bag!

Purchase some good, reusable bags. A Single person needs about 2-3. A family will need more. You can buy a beginner bag and see if you like it first. There are a variety of bags available: canvas9), mesh10), nylon, hemp11), etc. What you want is a bag that works for you.

Make sure it is durable and easy to use. Tote12) bags are not recommended as they are generally too small and the material may not be suitable for heavy items. Avoid back packs, as well. Canvas bags can shrink even if washed in cold water. Bags with small pockets are good for receipts or shopping lists.

One good thing about reusable bags is that most have straps and can be easily thrown over your shoulder. Even when doing a lot of shopping at a mall you can carry your reusable bags over the shoulder rather then carrying them in your hands.

第2步：弃"暗"投"明"！

买几个质量好、可重复使用的袋子。一个人需要大约2~3个。一个家庭需要更多。你可以先买一个试试，看看喜不喜欢。可供选择的袋子有很多：帆布袋、网格袋、尼龙袋、麻纤维袋等等。你需要的是一个适合自己的袋子。



确保它耐用、方便。不推荐手提购物袋，因为它们通常都很小，材质也不适宜携带较重的物品。也不要选用背袋。帆布包即使用冷水洗涤也会缩水。有小口袋的包适于放收据或购物单。

可重复使用的袋子有一个优点：大多数都有带子，可以方便地挎在肩上。即使是在大型购物商场，所购商品很多时，你也可以把袋子挎在肩上，而不必用手提。

Step 3: Mission to Bag

Once you have your bags you will find that most fold neatly and easily in your closet or a kitchen cabinet. When shopping, give your bag to the cashier first before presenting the items. Everyone saves money when you reuse bags.

第3步：用袋之道

一旦你有了自己的袋子，你会发现它们大多能方便整齐地叠放在你的衣柜或厨柜里。 购物时，先把你的袋子交给收银员，然后再摆出你购买的商品。重复使用袋子可以让每一个人都省下钱来。

Step 4: Practice and Persistence

The key is action. Keep a few bags by the door, so you will remember to take them when you go out. Whether you go to the supermarket, drugstore, clothes shopping, or a convenience store, challenge yourself to have a reusable bag with you. If you get caught shopping without a reusable bag then shop old school-use your hands!

第4步：坚持不懈



你的行动是关键。在门口放几个袋子，这样你外出时就会记得要带着它们。不管是去超市、药店、服装店，还是便利店，都带上一只可重复使用的袋子，挑战自己。如果你发现自己忘记带可重复使用的袋子，那么就用最原始的办法--用手拿！

Step 5: What Else?

Avoid using plastic bags as trash can liners. This is the number one excuse by people who say they recycle by using them as trash bags. Instead, buy trash bags that are designed to be biodegradable13). Leave your smaller trash cans or wastepaper baskets unlined and dump you trash directly into your large garbage cans or dumpster. If you have a large home and several waste paper baskets, then dump all of them into the outside can periodically14).

第5步：再接再厉

不要把塑料袋衬在垃圾筒里当垃圾袋，虽然有人说这样也是循环利用，但这其实是人们最常用的借口。去买可生物降解的垃圾袋。不要在你自己的小号垃圾桶或废纸篓里套塑料袋，直接把垃圾扔进大号的垃圾桶或垃圾箱里。如果你家很大，有几个废纸篓，那么定期将其中的垃圾倒入户外垃圾箱中。

Once you have kicked the habit, consider giving a friend a reusable bag as a gift. Take the time to explain why you shop with reusable bags. You may find that when people understand the dangers of excessively using plastic, and what it is doing to our environment, they may go on the 30 day plastic bag diet themselves!

当你摆脱了这个习惯，不妨把可重复使用的袋子作为礼物送给朋友。耐心解释为什么要用这种袋子购物。你会发现，当人们了解到过度使用塑料袋的弊端及其对环境造成的危害时，他们会自觉地加入到30天塑料袋"节食"计划中来。
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