What really happens to the plastic you throw away - Emma Bryce

譯者: Regina Chu 審譯者: Harry Chen

This is the story of three plastic bottles,

這是三個塑膠瓶的故事

empty and discarded.

空的、被丟棄的塑膠瓶

Their journeys are about to diverge

他們的旅程即將要分道揚鑣

with outcomes that impact nothing less than the fate of the planet.

有著影響到地球存亡的後果

But they weren't always this way.

不過他們並非皆為如此的

To understand where these bottles end up, we must first explore their origins.

要瞭解這些瓶子最終到了哪裡去 我們一定要先來探究其出處

The heroes of our story were conceived in this oil refinery.

故事中的主角們孕育於這個煉油廠

The plastic in their bodies

他們體內的塑膠

was formed by chemically bonding oil and gas molecules together

是由化學鍵 將油及氣體分子結合在一起

to make monomers.

而產生的單體形成

In turn, these monomers were bonded into long polymer chains to make plastic

單體一個接一個鍵結成長鏈聚合物

形成千上萬顆的塑膠粒

in the form of millions of pellets.

Those were melted at manufacturing plants and reformed in molds

塑膠粒在製造工廠熔化 並在模型中重塑

to create the resilient material that makes up the triplets' bodies.

製造出三胞胎身體中的彈性材料

Machines filled the bottles with sweet bubbily liquid

機器再將這三個瓶子 裝滿了甜性氣泡飲料

and they were then wrapped, shipped, bought, opened, consumed

他們被包裝、運送 購買、打開跟喝掉了

and unceremoniously discarded.

之後就被隨意扔棄

And now here they lie,

現在他們躺在這裡

poised at the edge of the unknown.

靜靜地待在不為人知的角落

Bottle one, like hundreds of millions of tons of his plastic brethren,

一號瓶就像他好幾億噸的 塑膠類哥兒們一樣

ends up in a landfill.

在垃圾掩埋場終了一生

This huge dump expands each day

當每天有更多垃圾倒進來不斷佔去空間

as more trash comes in and continues to take up space.

這一大堆傾倒物也跟著變大

As plastics sit there being compressed amongst layers of other junk,

當塑膠品靜置在數層的 廢棄物中被擠壓

rainwater flows through the waste

雨水流過廢棄物

and absorbs the water-soluble compounds it contains,

吸附其中所含的水溶性化合物

and some of those are highly toxic.

有些是含有劇毒的

Together, they create a harmful stew called leachate,

湊在一起就會產生稱為 「垃圾滲出水」的有害湯汁

which can move into groundwater, soil and streams,

其能滲入地下水、土壤和河流中

poisoning ecosystems and harming wildlife.

毒害生態系統、危害野生動物

It can take bottle one an agonizing 1,000 years to decompose.

一號瓶要花上痛苦的一千年才能分解

Bottle two's journey is stranger but, unfortunately, no happier.

二號瓶的旅程比較奇特些 不過可惜的是並沒有比較開心

He floats on a trickle that reaches a stream,

他在涓流上漂著進入小溪

a stream that flows into a river,

小溪再匯成大河

and a river that reaches the ocean.

大河流入海洋

After months lost at sea,

在大海中不知去向的幾個月後

he's slowly drawn into a massive vortex, where trash accumulates,

他緩緩移近於一個積聚垃圾的大渦流

a place known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

一個被稱為「太平洋垃圾帶」的地方

Here the ocean's currents have trapped millions of pieces of plastic debris.

在這裡洋流將數不清的 塑膠碎片困在其中

This is one of five plastic-filled gyres in the world's seas.

這是世界大海中布滿 塑膠垃圾的五大環流之一

Places where the pollutants turn the water into a cloudy plastic soup.

汙染物在這些地方 將水變成混濁的塑膠湯

Some animals, like seabirds, get entangled in the mess.

有些動物像是海鳥 會被這一堆雜物給纏住

They, and others, mistake the brightly colored plastic bits for food.

牠們和其他的動物誤以為 這些鮮豔的塑膠粒是食物

Plastic makes them feel full when they're not,

塑膠讓牠們以為吃飽了 事實卻非如此

so they starve to death

所以牠們餓死

and pass the toxins from the plastic up the food chain.

並將塑膠的毒素 順著食物鏈向上傳

For example, it's eaten by lanternfish,

舉個例，塑膠被燈籠魚吃下肚

the lanternfish are eaten by squid,

燈籠魚再被烏賊吃下肚

the squid are eaten by tuna,

烏賊又被鮪魚吃了

and the tuna are eaten by us.

然後鮪魚又成了我們的食物

And most plastics don't biodegrade,

塑膠大多無法生物分解

which means they're destined to break down into smaller and smaller pieces

也就是說它們註定要碎裂成 越來越小片的「塑膠微粒」

called micro plastics,

which might rotate in the sea eternally.

在海洋上恆久打轉

But bottle three is spared the cruel purgatories of his brothers.

三號瓶子卻逃過了 他兄弟們經歷的殘酷煉獄

A truck brings him to a plant

卡車把他帶到了工廠

where he and his companions are squeezed flat

在那裡他跟同伴們被壓平以及擠壓成塊

and compressed into a block.

Okay, this sounds pretty bad, too, but hang in there.

是的，這聽起來也很糟 但是再撐一下

It gets better.

情況即將好轉

The blocks are shredded into tiny pieces,

塑膠塊被切成薄片

which are washed and melted,

經過清洗和熔解

so they become the raw materials that can be used again.

又變成可再次利用的原物料

As if by magic, bottle three is now ready to be reborn

好像下了魔法 三號瓶已經準備好

再生成全新的東西

as something completely new.

For this bit of plastic with such humble origins,

對這小片出身卑微的塑膠而言

suddenly the sky is the limit.

突然間前景無量啊！