プラスチック使用を減らす方法の課題を英語で書きました。
こんなところで配信するくらいなのでクオリティは担保しません。
「こんな適当なの書いてくんな!」って先生に怒られたりしても、僕に怒らないでください。これを参考にしなければいけなかった自分を責めてください。
このPaparの構成を言いますね。
1. イントロ (スーパーのプラスチックの量の話)
2. プラスチックの使用の現状(全体量とか)
3. どうやって減らすのか?(自分達が何ができるのか)
4. 世界中のプロジェクトに関して
【法規制の更新】(フランス)
【コーンをプラスチックの代わりに】(ドイツ)
【エシカル・コンビニエンスストア】(日本)
【プラスチック・ミュージアム】(スペイン)
5. まとめ(さあ、どうする?)
こういう形です。世界中のプロジェクトの範囲が結構大きい!と思っててください。
ここからです。
Every time I go to the supermarket, what I think is ‘everything is covered with plastic!’. Not to mention that the packaging of processed foods such as snacks is usually made of plastic, but vegetables, fruits, and drinks are packaged with plastics. We all knew that some years ago, the government made the decision that plastic shopping bags are a fee charged from July 2020. At that time I felt some movements towards the reduction of plastic but nothing has come after that legal development and it was disappointing to me. I think we all have seen once tragic photos of plastic in the sea. That is what is happening right now and we all have to do something to solve this problem. We all know it is hard to let plastic go and to be free from the use of plastic. However, we all get to do this before it gets too late.
First, we all have to know how much we use plastic. According to earthday org, more than 480 billion plastic bottles were sold worldwide in 2016, and the world uses 500 billion plastic cups every year, estimating that the population of the world was 7.4billion, on calculation, each of us buys 65 plastic bottles and 68 plastic cups per year. However, developed countries use much more amount of plastic bottles and cups, so we may use more than 150 plastic bottles or cups in a year. It is a massive amount of plastic. Also, according to IBERDROLA, 500 million tonnes of plastics are produced annually worldwide and this is 9 times more plastic than we used in 1980. We know that we produced a lot of plastic, but why it is bad for the earth? It is because it takes an unbelievably long time to biodegrade plastic. For instance, it takes 500 years to biodegrade plastic bottles and in order to biodegrade plastic bags, we need 400 years. (Source: Life Out Of Plastic) That is why plastic has a huge influence on mammals and fish which accidentally eat plastic and sometimes they die because of it.
Next, I introduce what we should start doing in order to reduce plastic use in our life. The first and the most important thing is to bring your environmental bag. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, up to one trillion plastic bags are used each year around the world. This type of reduction is very common but still one of the most important and impactful ways to reduce the use of plastic. The second thing is to use your canteen and stop buying bottled water. As I write before, over 480 billion plastic bottles are consumed. In order to help those movements, free water supply spots have started to be set up in Japan, and by using apps such as Mymizu, you can check where you can get water and save money since the water supply itself is free. The third way to reduce plastic use is to shop in bulk. Indeed, this type of supermarket has not been widely adopted, but this could be the mainstream supermarket one day. For many households, the majority of plastic waste is coming from the kitchen. So is very effective to shop in bulk. It prevents the waste of packaging waste and bags. It also lightens the environmental impact of transportation. The last thing is to avoid using cosmetics that use micro-plastics, buy a biodegradable brush and natural cosmetics. Micro-plastic is one of the most difficult problems we have. Microplastic is dangerous because it is almost impossible to collect them, and plants, fish accidentally eat them without noticing it. That eventually lead to humans and we could eat plastic while we eat fish and some foods. In order to prevent this, try not to use any cosmetics which contain polypropylene or polyethylene and use biodegradable alternatives.
Next, I am introducing some projects running around the world that can help us reduce plastic use which might be standard of the world. First is France's low development. France's government bans plastic packaging for fruits and vegetables. France’s government has announced that it will eliminate single-use of plastic. To begin with, it has planned to ban the plastic packaging that wraps fruits and vegetables in the supermarkets. By engaging this, some supermarket is installing the system of selling by weight. The French government claims that 37% of fruit and vegetables are currently packaged and that this initiative will reduce packaging by one billion times each year. Spain's governments decided to follow France and enact the same law. Those following will set the world's new standard of using plastic in supermarkets.
The second is the insulation revolution. In November 2021, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen announced that they have developed a board-like insulation material made of popcorn. They also introduced the package made of popcorn. Both of them are going to be commercialized this year. Currently, heat-insulating materials play an important role in maintaining the comfort of the home without using small energy, but those made of plastic and mineral fibers account for about 90% of the world market. The insulation made of popcorn is lightweight, which reduces the cost of transportation and environmental impact. It also has a long product life and excellent thermal insulation and fire protection properties. Can be produced cost-effectively.
The third is the ETHICAL CONVENIENCE STORE in Japan. Since 2021, ETHICAL CONVENI is constantly installed around Japan. They set 6 themes on this project and 4 of them are connected with plastic use which are ‘Less Waste’,’ Animal Welfare’,’ Natural Materials’, and ocean Friendly’. The product they sell is very kind to the earth. We can notice how we can reduce plastic use by going there and thinking about those issues. The spread of such ethical stores can increase the opportunities for people to make their purchasing behavior more earth-friendly.
The last project is ‘THE PLASTIC MUSEUM’. In Madrid, the capital of Spain, ‘THE PLASTIC MUSEUM’, a temporary museum made of 100% recycled plastic, has opened. The purpose of the museum is to encourage people to think about the importance of using plastics correctly and to encourage them to make better choices in their daily activities and shopping. I know this does not change the way people’s actions directly but, I believe that continuing to educate people is an important part of creating a truly ethical world. Looking at those movements, the world is changing towards the reduction of plastic use.
The durable plastics that have become so indispensable in our lives are causing great harm to the environment and we know that. However, there are still few of them who start doing something which reduces plastic use. Of course, some movements are conducted by governments or companies that people like us cannot control and those movements are very important to reduce massively. However, the real and long-range solutions to this problem are coming from our lifestyles and our way of thinking. One action of each one of us and one change in our lifestyle can make a much bigger impact than any other decisions governments or companies did. What I did in this paper was to acknowledge the current situation of plastic, what we should do to reduce plastic use, and any ideas about what the world is doing to reduce plastic use. What I have to do after this is to turn this acknowledgment into my action. Any action is good for the earth. Any action could make the world better.
Reference
Jason Gooljar, Earthday.org, Apr 18, 2018
“Fact Sheet: How Much Disposable Plastic We Use”
https://www.earthday.org/fact-sheet-how-much-disposable-plastic-we-use/
Les réseaux sociaux du Gouvernement, Nov 10, 2021
“Les emballages plastiques des fruits et légumes frais n’auront plus cours”
https://www.gouvernement.fr/les-emballages-plastiques-des-fruits-et-legumes-frais-n-auront-plus-cours
Margaret Badore, Treehugger, Apr 14, 2021
“11 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Plastic Waste Today”
https://www.treehugger.com/easy-ways-reduce-your-plastic-waste-today-4858814
Professor Alireza Kharazipourm, University of Göttingen/Kharazipour Nov 16, 2021
“Press release: Insulation using popcorn?”
https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/3240.html?id=6481
You Li et al 2021 IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci. 631 012006
“Research on the Influence of Microplastics on Marine Life”
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/631/1/012006/pdf#:~:text=Microplastics%20are%20widely%20distributed%20in,reproductive%20toxicity%2C%20immunity%20toxicity%2C%20genetic
早坂奈緒, ETHICAL CONVENI, 2021
“ETHICAL CONVENIENCE STORE倫理と向き合うコンビニ”
https://ethical-conveni.com/pages/about
適当でごめんね。
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