is enough to fill a line of garbage trucks stretching more than 3,100 miles?

排起來長度會超過 3,100 英里（約 4,988 公里）嗎？

That's a distance from Florida to Washington, every day.

那是佛羅里達到華盛頓的距離，每天耶！

And things are only expected to get worse.

而情況只會越來越糟。

Thankfully, some cities such as San Francisco are paving the way

幸好，像舊金山等城市已開始為解決之道鋪路，

and trying to change the way we think about trash.

試圖改變人們對於垃圾的想法。

San Francisco plans to become zero waste by 2020,

舊金山預計於 2020 年前成為零廢棄之都，

which is a pretty ambitious but awesome goal.

這是個相當有野心但偉大的目標。

And this is the main nerve center for all of the city's recyclables.

我身後就是這座城市的回收處理中心。

This is where everything ends up to be sorted and processed.

所有垃圾都在此分類及處理。

What is zero waste?

什麼是零廢棄？

It's an idea,

零廢棄是種概念，

and it means sending next to nothing to landfills or incinerators.

意思是達到幾乎不將任何廢棄物送至垃圾掩埋場或焚化爐。

In 2009, the city passed a law

2009 年，舊金山通過一項法令，

requiring residents and businesses to sort their waste into recyclables, compostables, and landfill trash.

要求居民及企業將垃圾分為回收物、廚餘和一般垃圾。

Recology is the private company that handles it all.

舊金山垃圾處理皆由私人企業 Recology 一手包辦。

When I started at Recology 23 years ago,

23 年前，我創立 Recology 時，

the recycling rate was around 38%.

回收率大概是百分之三十八。

Today, we've more than doubled that.

如今，回收率已達當時的兩倍以上。

So far, San Francisco has diverted 80% of its waste away from landfills,

目前，舊金山已減少百分之八十送至垃圾掩埋場的垃圾量，

and its success has been getting global attention.

而這項成功得到了全球關注。

Government representatives from all over the world visit this facility

世界各國的政府紛紛派代表前來參訪，

to learn about how they might be able to replicate what's being done here.

觀摩學習可以效仿的模式。

What is the current method of waste management or recycling in your town?

目前，你家鄉那邊是怎麼處理垃圾及回收的？

What we have a lot of in Denmark is actually incineration, where you will burn the waste.

在丹麥，大部分的垃圾還是由焚化爐焚燒處理。

Do you think that you might implement some of what you've learned here?

你覺得自己回去可以實現在這裡學到的東西嗎？

One thing that we have heard about is the value of composting.

其中一個我學到的是堆肥的價值。

We don't do that a lot.

丹麥那不常堆肥。

So maybe we will go home and do more composting.

所以，也許我們之後會更常使用堆肥。

San Francisco now collects 650 tons of food scraps, yard trimmings, and other organic waste every day.

目前，舊金山每天收集 650 噸廚餘、庭園修枝和有機垃圾。

That material is brought here to be turned into compost.

這些東西被送到這裡轉化為堆肥。

This is one of the most modern composting facilities in North America.

此處是北美最現代化的堆肥設施之一。

OK, so you can see a bunch of stuff here that people have thrown away.

可以看到這裡有一大堆民眾丟棄的物品。

Mostly like wood here.

大部分包括像這邊的木頭、

A shoe, this flip-flop.

一隻鞋，還有人字拖。

Yeah, there's a...

對，這邊…

What's up with shoes?

怎麼會有鞋子？

Well, there's seven billion people on the planet, so there's a lot of shoes.

世界上有七十億人口，當然會有很多鞋囉。

We're in a culture here in California where people are moving very quickly,

在加州，人們生活的節奏相當快，

and so people make mistakes.

人們會分錯類或丟錯。

So we get the things that are not supposed to be here,

所以，這裡會出現一些不該出現在這的東西，

we get them removed right away, right at the beginning.

我們會在一開始就把這些東西挑出來。

After the waste is ground up and screened for plastic and other bits of trash,

這些垃圾被碾碎，也檢查過有無塑膠或其他垃圾參雜其中後，

the organic matter leftover gets watered and aerated.

有機廚餘將進行沖洗和曝曬。

A piping system then filters out dangerous greenhouse gases produced by microbes.

接著，管路系統會利用微生物過濾出有害環境的溫室氣體。

In about 60 days, the compost is complete and sold to local organic farmers and vineyards.

經過約 60 天後，堆肥就完成，準備銷往當地有機農地及葡萄園。

How does composting help the environment?

堆肥對環境有什麼幫助？

Composting keeps materials out of landfills,

堆肥讓原本在垃圾掩埋場的資源

it returns nutrients to farms,

轉為農地肥料，

it reduces the production of very potent greenhouse gases,

有效減少溫室氣體製造，

it attracts and retains water, like rainwater.

而且肥料能留住水份，如雨水。

I mean, it smells like hell,

雖然這裡聞起來糟透了，

but it's actually very beautiful, what you're describing here.

但你所描述的畫面真的非常優美。

You know, people's food scraps, which might otherwise be waste,

可能成為垃圾的剩菜剩飯

comes here to essentially feed these farms and produce new crops.

在這裡成為餵養農田的肥料並滋養新生作物。

Well, from this facility,

這個嘛，僅僅是這座設施，

more than 300 vineyards have received the compost and applied it to their vineyards.

所生產的肥料就供給超過 300 座葡萄園使用。

Farmers are using the compost to grow cover crops that pull carbon out of the atmosphere

農夫利用肥料種植覆土作物，這些作物會吸收大氣中的碳，

and return carbon back to the soil.

並讓碳回到土壤中。

This is one of the best things we can do in an effort to slow down climate change.

這是我們為減緩氣候變遷所能做的最好的行動之一了。

People have really heard a lot about environmental problems.

人們已經聽了很多環境問題了。

They want to hear now a lot more about environmental solutions.

現在，他們想要知道更多解決環境問題的方式。

How much recycling and composting is there in your town?

在你居住的地方，回收及堆肥盛行嗎？

Let us know in the comments below.

在下方留言讓我們知道。

And be sure to watch this next episode about a woman who already lives a zero-waste lifestyle.

也別忘了觀賞下一集，帶您看到一位已達成零廢棄生活的女士。

Two years of trash in this tiny little jar.

兩年份的垃圾，都在這個小罐子裡。

My values are having a really low environmental impact.

盡可能不對環境造成影響是我的核心價值。

I have to live, like, I want that, and so that's why I decided to change my lifestyle.

我嚮往那樣的生活，正因如此，我決定改變生活方式。

Thanks for watching, and please subscribe to "Seeker Stories" to see new videos every week.

感謝收看，也請訂閱頻道，收看每週更新影片。