Discarded plastic bags accumulate as “plastic soup” in the Pacific Ocean, covering more than 15,000,000 square kilometers, according to the BBC.
據(jù)英國廣播公司BBC報道稱，堆積在太平洋海域的廢棄塑料袋形成了“塑料湯”，覆蓋面積達1500萬平方公里。

Should we ban plastic bags altogether? In a survey recently conducted by the European Commission, most people favored an outright ban on plastic bags, the BBC reported. But are other options more eco-friendly?
我們是否應(yīng)該徹底取締塑料袋？ BBC報道稱，歐盟委員會最新的一項調(diào)查顯示，大多數(shù)人贊成完全禁止塑料袋。但塑料袋的其他替代品會更環(huán)保嗎？

According to the Commission, every year 800,000 tons of so-called single-use plastic bags are used in the European Union.
據(jù)歐委會統(tǒng)計，每年歐盟國家要使用80萬噸所謂的一次性塑料袋。

The average EU citizen used 191 of them in 2010, the Commission says, and only 6 percent were recycled. More than 4 billion bags are thrown away each year.
2010年歐盟居民平均每人使用191個塑料袋，其中僅有6%的塑料袋是可回收利用的。每年被丟棄的塑料袋數(shù)量超過40億個。

If shoppers stop using plastic bags, they must start using other kinds of bags, but there is no perfect solution.
如果人們購物不再使用塑料袋，就要開始使用其他袋子，但是目前還未找到完美的解決方案。

Stronger, heavier bags, whether made of fabric or paper, may have a bigger environmental impact than standard plastic bags.
更重更結(jié)實的袋子，不管是布做的還是紙做的，對于環(huán)境的影響可能比標(biāo)準(zhǔn)塑料袋更甚。

Whatever type of bag is used, the key to reducing the impact is to reuse it as many times as possible.
無論使用何種材質(zhì)的袋子，盡量循環(huán)使用才是減小對環(huán)境影響的訣竅。

Another way to reduce the impact is to use plastic bags that are biodegradable.
另一個環(huán)保的做法是使用可生物降解的塑料袋。

These bags will biodegrade in the natural environment, but they come in different types. Those made of corn will biodegrade in a landfill environment, but while doing so they produce methane, a powerful global warming gas.
盡管這些袋子可以在自然環(huán)境下降解，但也有不同類型之分。由谷物制成的塑料袋雖然可以在廢棄物處理廠降解，但降解過程中會產(chǎn)生甲烷，而甲烷會加劇全球變暖。

Another type of bag is oxo-biodegradable, which will biodegrade if exposed to air or water, but not in landfill and the cost to make them is much higher.
還有一種含氧生物降解塑料袋，與空氣和水接觸便會進行生物降解。但該反應(yīng)無法在廢棄物處理廠進行，而且生產(chǎn)成本也高得多。

Paper bags have been the traditional shopping bag in the US, but while these biodegrade in landfill, the UK Environment Agency study says that they have a higher carbon footprint than standard plastic carrier bags.
在美國，人們習(xí)慣使用傳統(tǒng)的紙質(zhì)購物袋。但據(jù)英國環(huán)境部調(diào)查顯示，紙袋在垃圾場中降解時的碳排放量高于標(biāo)準(zhǔn)塑料袋。

It also says the available evidence suggests paper bags are not generally reused, either as bin liners–a purpose for which they are not well suited–or for other purposes.
同時，英國環(huán)境部還指出，有證據(jù)表明紙袋通常不會被循環(huán)使用，不管是作為垃圾袋（它們并不太適合作這一用途）還是用做其他用途。

Why are paper bags still popular in the US? The pressure from the powerful wood pulp industry in the country is one important reason.
為何在美國紙袋依舊廣受歡迎呢？來自美國龐大的木材紙漿產(chǎn)業(yè)的壓力也是重要原因之一。