國發會與ICRT共同製播的時事英語廣播“The World in Brief”固定於每周三在雙語資源網更新，與大家一起聽時事學英文。

本周主題：2050淨零排放 Net Zero by 2050

瑞曼迪斯股份有限公司(REMONDIS)總部位於德國，在全球約有1000個業務地點，為全球資源再生的領導者之一，其位在南投的臺灣據點自1996年開始營運，至今近30年。過去臺灣的街道曾有大量垃圾堆積，但在政府推行的「垃圾不落地」(garbage doesn’t touch the ground)政策後，臺灣回收業為世界最好典範之一！許多植物盆、洗髮精瓶、甚至衣服和鞋子，皆為回收後重複使用的物品。想知道更多嗎？讓我們用3分鐘一起跟著主持人了解更多吧！

您喜歡這則時事英語廣播嗎?進入表單與我們分享您對The World in Brief的喜好與看法吧！

 

Transcript

Voice: You’re listening to the World in Brief …

Crowd: … On tour! 

Frank: ‘Dear ICRT, my new sneakers are made of old bottles! What’s going on?’

Host: The fabric on Frank in Fengyuan’s feet is fascinating! Let’s find out more!

Host: Sorry, it’s very loud here!

Expert:Hey there!

Host: Eh?

Expert: Can I help?

Host: I can’t hear you! Can we go outside?

Expert: Let’s go outside. I can’t hear you!

Host: Phew! I can hear myself think out here! Your machines are all so loud.

Expert: You’re at the REMONDIS Nantou Plastic Recycling Plant. It’s a constant hub of activity! Everyone’s working hard to protect Taiwan’s fragile ecosystem.

Host: REMONDIS … isn’t that a European company?

Expert: Yes, we’re based in Germany. But we have around 1000 business locations worldwide, spread over 4 continents and 30 countries. We’re one of the world’s leading recycling, service and water companies.

Host: How long have you guys been here, in Taiwan?

Expert: This site’s been operational since 1996, so … nearly 30 years! Ours was one of the first companies to join Taiwan’s superb recycling industry.

Host: Superb, you say? Is it really as good as that?

Expert: Absolutely! It’s widely thought of as one of the best in the world.

Host: That’s cool!

Expert: It’s very cool! And it’s well-earned. You know, Taiwan used to be nicknamed “Garbage Island!”

Host: Urgh! That doesn’t sound very nice …

Expert: It wasn’t. Mounds of trash used to pile high on our city streets, before the government introduced a “garbage doesn’t touch the ground” policy. Now Taiwan is one of the best managers of household waste in the world!

Host: We’re on the right path towards our 2050 Net-Zero emissions target, then?

Expert: For sure! But there’s a long way to go, the path is long and winding.

Host: How do you mean?

Expert: 2024 has only just begun! There are still 26 years to go, and we have lots to do before then. Anything could happen in that time, so we can’t get complacent!

Host: No one could accuse you of complacency here, I think! Look at all your bales of bottles! They’re like huge, multicolored bricks!

Expert: And every one is packed with plastic. In fact, since this site opened, we’ve successfully processed over twenty-two billion plastic bottles!

Host: That’s incredible! I can’t even imagine that much plastic!

Expert: It’s hard to picture, I know. Think of it this way: line all those bottles up, end to end, and they’d be enough to circle the world at least a hundred times!

Host: Whoa!! What happens to all of it?

Expert: It gets refined. That means we take out all the harmful impurities. Then we recycle it, and use it to make other stuff. People reuse our plastic to make all kinds of things. Like plant pots, shampoo bottles, and even clothes and shoes!

Host: Excellent, that explains Frank in Fengyuan’s new sneakers! Thanks so much, I’ll go tell him right now. See ya! 

 

Vocabulary

fabric 織物，織品；布料 (n.)

The fashion industry could become more sustainable by using recycled polythene bags to make recyclable fabrics suitable for sportswear and perhaps one day, spacesuits!

 

fragile 脆弱的 (adj.)

The staggering and ever-increasing amount of our plastic usage, if not managed well and recycled at higher rates, could overwhelm Taiwan’s fragile ecosystem.  

 

emissions 排放物  (n.)

With world plastic demand tripling by 2050, it’s time to start using the technology we have to make Net-Zero emissions plastics with renewable raw materials and energy.

 

picture 想像 (v.)                                    

Taiwan has come such a long way in waste management since the 1980s that it is hard to picture its dire trash situation when the country was known as “Garbage Island.”

 

refine 提煉，精鍊 (v.)

Plastics must be refined for recycling, but the volume of food, paper, textiles, and soil contaminating recyclable plastics has made some US cities stop collecting them.