That's a plastic straw being pulled out of

這是一根塑膠吸管從

a sea turtle's nose.

海龜的鼻腔裡拔出來

The video went viral in 2015 sparking a public outcry

這個影片在 2015 年爆紅，促使大眾開始

to "say no to plastic straws."

對塑膠吸管說不

And over the years the campaign has gained traction.

這些年來，這項運動越來越有說服力

Starbucks says by 2020 it will eliminate plastic straws,

星巴克說他們會在 2020 年禁用塑膠吸管

pivoting to biodegradable straws and a newly designed lid.

轉而使用能被分解的吸管和最新設計的杯蓋

McDonald's UK, American Airlines, and Marriott Hotels

英國的麥當勞、美國航空和萬豪酒店

have all announced similar changes.

也都宣布了類似的異動

So why do plastic straws suck?

塑膠吸管到底為什麼這麼糟呢？

Starbucks says, "One of the major issues

星巴克說：「最大的問題是

with plastic straws is that they are too small

塑膠吸管體積太小、

and lightweight to be captured in modern recycling equipment."

又太輕，容易被現代的回收機器忽略。」

We reached out to various recycling plants across North America to see if that was true.

我們參訪的許多北美的回收工廠，看看到底是不是真的

While some facilities told us they do recycle straws,

雖然有些工廠跟我們說他們的確有在回收吸管，

two of the largest recycling facilities in the US

美國最大的兩家回收公司說

said its machines don't always catch straws.

他們的機器常抓不到吸管

So they end up in the trash and eventually in landfills.

所以吸管到最後都變成垃圾進了掩埋場

So frustrating.

真的很令人沮喪

I know.

我知道

Another place straws tend to end up?

那另一個吸管的去向是？

Beaches.

海邊

Dr. George Leonard is the Chief Scientist for Ocean Conservancy.

Dr. George Leonard 是海洋環保組織的領導科學家

Dr. Leonard: The data from our 2017 international

Dr. Leonard：「由 2017 年國際淨灘的資料顯示

coastal cleanup and there were 643,000 plastic straws

有 643,000 支塑膠吸管

that were picked up around beaches and waterways all over the world.

從世界各地的海邊及運河被撿起來。」

To limit the use of straws

要限制吸管的使用量

Starbucks introduced a new lid that resembles a sippy cup.

星巴克推出了一種類似喝水杯的新蓋子

These new lids are made from polypropylene

這種新蓋子是聚丙烯製成的

which according to Starbucks can be widely recycled.

根據星巴克的說法是可以被廣泛回收的

But there's one major problem.

但還有一個問題

Rachel Sarnoff: You know the objective really was to phase out straws

Rachel Sarnoff 說最終目的是要逐漸地停止使用吸管

because they're not recyclable.

因為他們不能被回收

The shift to this lid really increases the amount

換成這種蓋子其實會增加

of plastic that Starbucks is using per cup.

星巴克每個杯子的塑膠使用量

I think it could be a part of a solution

我想這可以是解決問題的一小部分

but I don't think it's the whole picture.

但我不覺得是最終的解決方案

Some critics have pointed out that straws only make up a fraction of our plastic waste.

有些批評的人指出吸管只佔了一小部分的塑膠垃圾

So why is everyone so worked up about them?

為什麼大家要為了這件事如此費心呢？

Dr. Leonard: I think straws are a bit of a poster child

Dr. Leonard 說：「我想塑膠吸管只是一個典型的代表，

here for the bigger question of society's kind of

他代表了社會上更大的問題

over-reliance on single-use plastics and the fact

像是我們對於免洗塑膠的依賴

that a lot of the stuff is ending up in our marine environment.

還有很多垃圾最後都到了我們的海洋中的這個事實

All plastics ultimately sort of break down

所有的塑膠最終會碎成

and fracture into smaller and smaller bits of plastic

越來越小的塑膠碎片

as a result of being tossed around by the waves

然後會被海浪不停地翻攪

and then by the fact that sunlight basically

然後陽光的照射會讓

makes the plastic brittle.

塑膠變得容易脆化

And so they create what we call microplastics.

然後變成所謂的塑膠微粒

We're finding these flecks of plastic in everything from the forage fish

我們在每個東西裡都有找到這個塑膠碎片，像是浮游魚類

that are at the base of the food web

他們是食物網裡的最底層

up through the kinds of fish that we end up putting on our dinner plate.

在食物網的頂端則是會出現在我們的盤子裡的魚

If we get the kind of global plastic users

如果我們能讓全球使用塑膠的人

and the major brands like Starbucks

還有大品牌像是星巴克

and some of these other companies like Coca-Cola

還有像是可口可樂

that everybody knows about to really take ownership of

這樣大家都知道的公司當作先驅

their contribution to this problem

對這個問題來貢獻

and alter their business practices

還有改變他們的經營計畫

you know they can be real leaders here

這樣的話，他們可以成為真正的領導者

and they can bring the rest of the plastic supply chain along with them.

進而帶動其他塑膠供應商的迴響。」

So how do we start?

那我們應該從哪裡著手呢？

Sarnoff: We need to be more thoughtful about how we use plastic.

Sarnoff ：「我們應該對於如何使用塑膠這件事上更謹慎小心。」

Dr. Leonard: We do know that there's about eight million metric tons of plastic overall

Dr. Leonard ：「我們知道每年大約有八百萬頓的塑膠

that ends up in the world's oceans every year

進到全球的海洋當中

and that's kind of thought to be one garbage truck worth per mile of beach per day.

這個概念大概是每隔一英里的海灘，每天都有一卡車的垃圾量

About half of that plastic comes from

大約有一半的塑膠是從

countries in Southeast Asia that don't have formal

東南亞的國家來的，因為他們還沒有正式的

waste management systems.

垃圾處理系統

Dr. Leonard: Much of their local waste

Dr. Leonard：「他們當地的垃圾很多都是

is disposed in sort of informal ways

用非官方的方式分解的

whether it's behind the house or at a community dump

不論是在自家後面還是社區的垃圾場

which is essentially sort of an open pit

基本上都是一個坑

or in some cases directly dumped into the ocean itself.

或是直接倒在大海裡面

In countries like the US

像是美國

plastic can also be swept down drains,

塑膠也會被掃到下水道

into rivers leading to the sea.

進入河流再到大海中

It can be flushed down the toilet

也可能會被沖入馬桶

or left behind by beachgoers.

或是被人丟在海邊

So what should we be doing differently?

那我們應該做出什麼樣的改變呢？

For starters pay closer attention to your personal habits.

對於剛接觸的人來說，可以先從注意個人習慣開始

Sarnoff: Get into the habit of bringing our own cup,

Sarnoff：「開始養成帶自己的環保杯、

fork, bag, straw.

叉子、袋子、吸管的習慣。

That's what I have in my bag at all times.

這些都是我隨身攜帶的東西。」

Stop flushing things other than human waste and toilet paper down the toilet.

除了排泄物和可溶解的衛生紙以外，不要把其他的東西沖入馬桶

And remember, anything that goes down the toilet, drain,

記住，所以進入馬桶、排水溝

or into sewers goes to the ocean.

或是下水道的東西都會進入大海中

All drains lead to the ocean, kid.

孩子們，所有的排水溝都通到海洋！