Curbing our plastic addiction - 6 Minute English

Neil: Hello, and welcome to 6 Minute

English. I'm Neil.

Rob: And hello, I'm Rob.

Neil: Today we're talking about plastic.

Rob: Yes, it's our addiction to plastic that's

of concern because this material doesn't

decay very quickly, so once we've used it,

it hangs around for a very long time.

Neil: It is a problem - and decay, by the

way, describes the natural process of

something being destroyed or breaking

down into small particles. We hear so

much about the consequences of

having too much waste plastic around,

don't we?

Rob: Indeed. Not only does it cause a

mess - wildlife, particularly marine

animals, are at risk when they become

entangled in plastic waste, or ingest it.

It's an issue that needs tackling -

or dealing with. And that's what we'll

be discussing today and finding out what

could be done to solve this plastic crisis.

Neil: OK, first, let's challenge you to

answer a question about plastic, Rob.

The first synthetic plastic - that's plastic

made entirely from man-made materials -

was created over 100 years ago. Do you

know what its brand name was? Was it...

a) Bakelite, b) Lucite or c) Formica?

Rob: I'm no expert, so I'll say c) Formica.

Neil: Well, we'll reveal the answer at the

end of the programme. Now let's talk more

about plastic. This man-mad substance

is everywhere - from clothing to crisp

packets, and bottles to buckets.

Rob: But the problem is that most of it isn't

biodegradable - that's a word that

describes something that can decay

naturally without harming anything. Each

year, 400 million tonnes of plastic is

produced and 40% of that is single-use.

So why don't we stop using it?

Neil: It's not that easy, Rob, and it's

something Lucy Siegle, a BBC reporter

and author, has been talking about.

She was speaking in a discussion on the

Costing the Earth programme on BBC

Radio 4, and explained the issue we

have with quitting plastic but also how our

attitude is changing...

Lucy Siegle: We have this weird

psychological attachment to this material

that's been around and it's like a push and pull.

At the one time, we're so horrified by what

we're seeing - the whales dying, the

oceans vomiting plastic, beaming in from

all over the world, and at the same time

we're being told we can't live without it, so

that creates a psychological dissonance -

which I think is the barrier to behavioural

change but I'm finding now

awareness has peaked and it's going over

into activism.

Rob: She mentioned the word

psychological - that's something that

affects or involves our mind - so here,

psychological attachment means that in

our mind we feel we have to

use plastic - we're addicted.

Neil: But we also see the negative impact

of plastic - like whales dying - and in our

mind we're also thinking we must stop!

This has created what Lucy says is a

'psychological dissonance' - dissonance

means a disagreement between two

opposing ideas - so we're having

an argument in our head about the right

thing to do - this is the 'push and pull' of

thoughts she referred to.

Rob: And this dissonance has been the

barrier to us trying to solve the plastic

issue - but now we're starting to do

something about it - we're taking action to

reduce our plastic waste - we're turning to

activism. That's taking action to change

something - it could be social or political

change, or a change in our

behaviour or attitude.

Neil: Of course there has been a big push

- that means people have been strongly

encouraged - to recycle.

Rob: Maybe in an ideal world the best

thing to do is go plastic-free - but that isn't

easy, is it?

Neil: No, it isn't, and it's something Lucy

Siegle spoke about. Getting rid of plastic

in our lives is a gradual process. But

where does she think we can make

the biggest difference?

Lucy Siegle: I really think that to

concentrate on stopping the flow of

plastics into your life is easier and more

effective in the long term, than trying to

go plastic-free from the outset.

We are in the UK, a supermarket

culture, so a lot of the tips and tricks to

decreasing the flow of plastic are getting

round supermarket culture.

Rob: She says we have a supermarket

culture in the UK. Culture here describes a

way of life - or a way that we generally

behave - and in terms of food shopping,

we tend to do that in supermarkets.

Neil: So, for example, customers can

make a big difference by putting pressure

on supermarkets to use less plastic

packaging. It does seem that the future of

plastic is in our hands - we need to be

more careful about how and when we use

it - and use our collective power

to force change if it's needed.

Rob: But there's no doubt plastic is useful

for many things so it will be a long time

before it disappears altogether.

Neil: And earlier I asked you what was the

name of the first synthetic plastic,

invented over a 100 years ago. Was it...

a) Bakelite, b) Lucite or c) Formica?

Rob: And I said c) Formica. Was I right?

Neil: Formica is a type of hard plastic

used for covering tables and working

areas in kitchens - but it's not the oldest

type. That was Bakelite.

Rob: I may have got that wrong but

hopefully I'll have more success

recapping some of today's vocabulary -

starting with decay, which describes

the natural process of something being

destroyed or breaking down into small

particles - which plastic takes a long

time to do.

Neil: Next we had biodegradable - that's a

word to describe something that can

decay naturally without harming anything.

Rob: Then we had psychological - that's

something that affects or involves your mind.

Neil: Next up, we had dissonance, which

describes a disagreement between

two opposing ideas.

Rob: And then we mentioned activism -

that's taking action to change something.

We also mentioned the phrase 'a big

push' which means people are strongly

encouraged or persuaded

to do something, usefully by force.

Neil: And finally we had culture. In our

context of supermarket culture, it

describes a way of life - or a

way that we generally behave.

Rob: Thanks, Neil. Now, remember you

can find more learning English

programmes and materials on our

website at bbclearningenglish.com. That's

it for now but please join us next time for

6 Minute English. Goodbye.

Neil: Goodbye.