研究：2040年全球塑料垃圾至少將達到7億噸

你還在用塑料吸管嗎？研究人員發現，即使全球的人們從現在起扔掉吸管，儘量減少塑料垃圾的產生，到2040年塑料垃圾還是會達到7億噸以上，這對於海洋和野生動植物都是一場災難。

If the world embarked on an immediate and globally-coordinated effort to reduce our plastic consumption, there would still be an estimated 710 million metric tons of plastic that will pollute the environment by 2040, new research has found.

新研究發現，如果全世界聯合起來立即採取行動來降低塑料消費，預計到2040年污染環境的塑料垃圾仍將達到7.1億公噸。

The study, from a group of international researchers and published in the journal Science on Thursday, found that even in a "best-case scenario" where the amount of plastic pollution was reduced by 80% by 2040, there would still be a massive build-up of accumulated plastic.

一個跨國研究團隊開展的這項研究發現，即使在“最好的情況下”，也就是到2040年塑料污染總量減少80%，累積的塑料垃圾總量仍然會很龐大。該研究本週四（7月23日）發表在《科學》期刊上。

Millions of tons of plastic enter the oceans every year, polluting the seas, littering beaches and endangering wildlife. Plastic particles have been found in soils, in the atmosphere and even in the most remote regions of Earth, such as Antarctica. Microplastics are also eaten by fish and other sea creatures, where they enter the food chain.

每年都有數百萬噸塑料進入海洋，污染了大海，弄髒了沙灘，還危及野生動植物的生命。土壤、大氣中甚至連地球最遙遠的南極洲等地區都能找到塑料顆粒。塑料微粒被魚類和其他海洋生物吞食，從而進入了食物鏈。

A rapid growth in plastic production, spurred by a rise in single-use plastics and a "throw-away" culture has exacerbated the problem, the report said. Meanwhile, waste management systems in countries around the world don't have the capacity to safely dispose of or recycle plastic waste.

研究報告指出，在一次性塑料產品興起和“丟棄”文化的刺激下，飛速發展的塑料生產加劇了這一問題。與此同時，世界各國的廢物管理體系不具備安全處理或回收塑料廢物的能力。

The team found that there is no silver bullet solution to reducing global plastic pollution.

研究團隊發現，減少全球塑料污染沒有捷徑。

Instead, change is needed across the whole supply chain, they said, from the manufacturing of plastics, to pre-consumption (known as upstream) and after use (recycling and reusing) to stop the spread of plastic pollution into the environment.

他們指出，整個供應鏈都需要作出改變，從塑料的製造到消費前（所謂的“上游”）再到使用後（回收和再利用）來阻止塑料污染向環境擴散。

One key finding the study identified is that waste mismanagement wasn't necessarily a problem of having the recycling capacity, landfill space or incinerators, but the bottle neck came from the collection gap.

該研究的一個重要發現是，廢物管理不善不一定是是否擁有回收能力、垃圾填埋場或焚化爐的問題，收垃圾的巨大差距纔是瓶頸所在。

"There are billions of people without collection services right now. When certain groups say we can recycle our way out of it, you can't recycle something you haven't collected. You can't dispose of something you haven't collected," said Dr. Winnie Lau, co-author of the study.

研究報告的合著者維尼·勞博士說：“當前有數十億人沒有收垃圾服務。某些組織表示，我們可以通過回收來解決問題，但你不能回收你未收集的垃圾，你也不能處理你未收集的垃圾。”

The team noted that in many middle-income countries, such as India, informal workers and waste pickers made a living from collecting plastics and that their work was a key component of being able to solve this collection gap. Often these workers have no legal or formal recognition and no protection.

研究團隊指出，在許多中等收入國家，比如印度，臨時工和撿垃圾的人靠收塑料爲生，他們的工作是填補這一收垃圾差距的關鍵組成部分。這些勞動者往往沒有合法的正式職業，也不受保護。

By highlighting how vital they are to this sector, the authors said it will hopefully bring them into the part of the economy where their contribution is recognized.

研究作者們表示，通過凸顯這些勞動者對這一領域的重要性，希望能讓他們成爲經濟的一部分，讓他們的貢獻得到認可。