Which bag should you use? - Luka Seamus Wright and Imogen Ellen Napper

Translator: Hui Bin Go

You’ve filled up your cart and made it to the front of the grocery line

Anda penuhkan troli dan menuju ke arah kaunter

when you’re confronted with yet another choice:

di sini anda berdepan dengan satu lagi pilihan:

what kind of bag should you use?

beg jenis apa yang harus anda guna?

If you’ve seen the images of plastic bags strewn across the ocean,

Jika anda pernah lihat gambar beg plastik dibuang berleluasa di laut,

it might seem obvious that plastic is bad for the environment.

ini amat ketara bahawa plastik tak baik untuk alam sekitar.

Surely a paper bag or a cotton tote would be the better option.

Beg kertas atau beg tote kapas merupakan pilihan lebih baik.

But is that really true?

Tetapi adakah ini benar?

Each of these three materials has a unique environmental impact

Setiap bahan ini ada kesan yang tertentu terhadap alam sekitar

that’s determined by its carbon footprint,

ia ditentukan oleh jejak karbonnya,

its potential to be reused and recycled, and its degradability.

potensi untuk diguna dan dikitar semula, dan kadar kebolehuraiannya.

So, to get the full story on these grocery bags

Untuk cerita penuh mengenai beg barang runcit ini

we need to look at how they’re made,

kita harus lihat cara mereka dibuat,

how they’re used, and where they ultimately go.

cara digunakan, dan tempat akhir mereka berada.

Let’s start with plastic.

Kita mulakan dengan plastik.

The typical thin and flimsy plastic bag is made of high-density polyethylene,

Beg plastik yang nipis dan flimsi dibuat daripada polietilena ketumpatan tinggi,

commonly known as HDPE.

biasanya dikenali sebagai HDPE.

Producing this material requires extracting petroleum from the ground

Penghasilan material ini perlukan pengeluaran petroleum dari bumi

and applying extreme heat.

dengan menggunakan haba yang ekstrim.

The resulting polymer resin is then transported

Resin polimer yang dihasilkan kemudian diangkut

alongside additional ingredients like titanium oxide and chalk

bersama bahan tambahan seperti titanium oksida dan kapur

to a bag manufacturing plant.

ke kilang pembuatan beg.

Here, coal powered machines melt the materials down

Mesin berkuasa arang batu mencairkan bahan-bahan ini

and spin them into sheets of plastic,

dan putarkan jadi kepingan plastik,

which are then folded into bags.

kemudian dilipat menjadi beg.

By the time a bag reaches its final destination,

Pada masa beg sampai ke destinasi akhirnya,

it’s contributed an estimated 1.6 kg of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

ia telah mengeluarkan kiri-kira 1.6kg karbon dioksida ke atmosfera.

Ini sama dengan jumlah karbon dihasilkan oleh kereta

That’s the same amount of carbon a car produces,

driving a little over 6 kilometers.

yang dipandu sejauh 6 kilometer.

But the alternatives actually possess a much larger carbon footprint.

Namun, alternatifnya mempunyai jejak karbon yang lebih tinggi.

Paper is made from wood pulp,

Kertas diperbuat daripada pulpa kayu,

and when you account for the carbon cost of removing trees from their ecosystems,

jika ambil kira kos karbon bagi keluarkan pokok dari ekosistem

a single paper bag can be responsible for about 5.5 kg of carbon dioxide.

satu beg kertas melibatkan kira-kira 5.5kg karbon dioksida.

Meanwhile, growing cotton is an extremely energy and water intensive process.

Sementara itu, pertumbuhan pokok kapas perlukan banyak tenaga dan air.

The production of a single cotton tote

Pembuatan satu beg kapas

emits an estimated 272 kg of carbon dioxide.

menghasilkan kira-kira 272kg karbon dioksida

When we compare carbon footprints, plastic bags are the clear winner.

Apabila kita bandingkan jejak karbon, jelas beg plastik menang.

But environmental impact is also determined by how the bag is used.

Namun, kesan terhadap alam sekitar juga dipengaruhi oleh cara kegunaan beg

Reusing or recycling these bags

Guna atau kitar semula beg-beg ini

significantly offsets their environmental toll

jelas dapat kurangkan kemusnahan terhadap alam sekitar

by reducing demand for new production.

dengan turunnya permintaan barang baru.

To quantify that offset, we can divide the bag’s carbon footprint

Bagi mengukur pengimbangan ini, kita boleh bahagikan jejak karbon beg

by the number of times it’s reused.

ikut bilangan kali ia diguna semula

For example, if a typical paper bag is reused three times,

Sebagai contoh, beg kertas akan diguna semula sebanyak tiga kali

it has a lower net impact than a single-use plastic bag.

mempunyai kesan lebih rendah berbanding beg plastik gunaan tunggal.

The carbon footprint of a cotton tote can similarly be lowered,

Jejak karbon beg tote kapas juga boleh direndahkan,

if it’s reused 131 times.

jika ia diguna semula 131 kali.

Of these three options, durable cloth totes are most likely to be reused.

Antara tiga pilihan, beg kain tahan lama lebih mungkin diguna semula.

Evidence shows paper bags are quickly discarded due to their tendency to tear.

Bukti menunjukkan beg kertas lebih kerap dibuang kerana mudah koyak.

This issue plagues HDPE plastic bags as well.

Isu ini juga berlaku pada beg plastik HDPE.

But even when they’re made to avoid tearing,

Walaupun ia dihasilkan untuk elak koyak

their widespread availability makes it easy to treat them as single-use items.

ia senang didapati membuatkannya dianggap barang pakai buang.

Fortunately, researchers estimate that 40% of HDPE bags

Nasib baik, penyelidik mengganggar 40% beg HDPE

are reused at least once for throwing out waste.

diguna semula sekurang-kurangnya satu kali sebagai beg sampah.

Recycling these bags also offsets their carbon footprint,

Kitar semula beg ini juga mengimbangi jejak karbon,

but it’s not universally possible for each material.

tapi ia bukan sesuai secara sejagat untuk semua material.

Many countries lack the infrastructure to efficiently recycle plastic bags.

Banyak negara kurang infrastruktur kitar semula beg plastik yang berkesan.

Cotton totes are perhaps even more difficult to breakdown and process,

Beg kapas mungkin lebih sukar dilerai dan diproses,

but since they’re often reused for long periods,

sebab ia diguna semula untuk jangka masa panjang,

they’re still least likely to end up in landfills.

ia kurang didapati di tapak perlupusan sampah.

Whenever these bags aren’t recycled,

Bila beg-beg tidak dikitar semula,

the third factor in calculating environmental impact comes into play:

factor ketiga kesan alam sekitar diambil kira;

degradability.

kebolehuraian.

Since HDPE bags are heat-resistant and insoluble,

Oleh kerana beg HDPE adalah tahan panas dan tak terlarut,

they stick around long after we’re done with them.

ia tetap wujud lama selepas dibuang,

Partially broken down plastic can circulate in ecosystems for centuries.

Plastik separuh lerai boleh tersebar dalam ekosistem berabab lama.

Cotton on the other hand degrades substantially in a matter of months,

Manakala kapas dapat terhurai dalam masa beberapa bulan,

and paper bags break down completely in just 90 days.

dan beg kertas pula terhurai sepenuhnya dalam masa 90 hari sahaja.

So, which bag should you use?

Oleh itu,beg mana yang harus anda guna?

It turns out the most environmentally friendly bags

Hakikatnya beg yang paling mesra alam

have features of several materials we've discussed.

mempunyai ciri-ciri beberapa material yang kita bincangkan.

They’re durable and reusable, like cotton, but made of plastic,

Ia tahan lama,boleh diguna semula seperti kapas,tapi dibuat daripada plastik,

which has a lower carbon footprint than cotton or paper.

mempunyai jejak karbon yang lebih rendah berbanding kapas atau kertas.

These sturdy shopping bags consist of polyester, vinyl and other tough plastics,

Beg beli-belah tahan lasak ini mempunyai unsur poliester, vinil dan plastik lain,

and are already used worldwide.

dan telah diguna di seluruh dunia.

Most importantly, they should last a lifetime—

Yang penting sekali, ia harus tahan seumur hidup-

making them the best option for the planet, and your groceries.

jadikan ia pilihan terbaik untuk planet ini dan bahan runcit anda.