VOA慢速英语：印度开始在全国范围内禁止使用一次性塑料

India banned some single-use or disposable plastic products recently as part of a plan to slowly discontinue the use of the material in the South Asian nation.
印度最近禁止了部分一次性塑料产品，作为在这个南亚国家逐步开展禁塑计划的一部分。
 
For its first step in the plan, the federal government has identified 19 plastic products that are not very useful but have a high possibility of becoming waste. It is illegal to produce, import, keep, give them out, or sell them.
作为该计划的第一步，联邦政府已经确定了19种塑料制品，它们不是很有用，但很有可能变成废物。生产、进口、保存、分发或出售它们都是违法的。
 
These products include cups, straws, and ice cream sticks made from plastic. Some disposable plastic bags will also be banned and replaced with thicker, reusable ones.
这些产品包括由塑料制成的杯子、吸管和冰淇淋棒。部分一次性塑料袋也将被禁止使用，取而代之的是更厚、可重复使用的塑料袋。
 
Thousands of other plastic products, like bottles for water or bags for foods like chips, are not covered by the ban. But the federal government has set targets for manufacturers to be responsible for recycling or disposing of them after their use.
数以千计的其他塑料产品，如饮料瓶和薯片包装袋等塑料制品不在禁止范围。但联邦政府已经为制造商设定了回收或处置目标。
 
Plastic manufacturers had appealed to the government to delay the ban. They said inflation and possible job losses are a concern. But India's federal environment minister Bhupender Yadav told the media at a meeting in New Delhi that the ban had been in progress for a year.
塑料制造商呼吁政府推迟禁令，他们说此举可能会导致通货膨胀和失业。但印度联邦环境部长潘达·亚德夫在新德里的一次会议上告诉媒体，该禁令已经实施了一年。
 
"Now that time is up," he said.
“现在是时候了。”他说。
 
This is not the first time that India has considered a plastic ban. Previous bans have centered in some areas of the country with different degrees of success.
这不是印度第一次考虑禁塑。以前的禁令集中在某些地区，取得了不同程度的成功。
 
A nationwide ban that includes not just the use of plastic, but also its production and importation was a "definite boost," said Satyarupa Shekhar. A "definite boost" means a clear improvement. Shekhar is the Asia-Pacific area adviser for the organization Break Free from Plastic.
萨蒂亚鲁帕·谢哈尔说，一项全国性的禁令不仅包括塑料的使用，还包括塑料的生产和进口，这是一个“明显的改善”。“Definite boost”意思是明显的改善。谢哈尔是“脱离塑料”组织的亚太地区顾问。
 
Most plastic is not recycled around the world. The materials pollute the world's oceans, affect wildlife, and turn up in drinking water. And scientists are still trying to understand the risks from very small pieces of plastic, known as microplastics.
世界各地的大多数塑料都没有回收利用。这些材料污染了世界海洋，影响了野生动物，并出现在饮用水中。科学家们仍在试图了解非常小块塑料(称为微塑料)的风险。
 
The country's waste management system cannot handle its growing cities and villages. It means that much of the waste is not recycled and ends up polluting the environment. Our World in Data found that nearly 13 million metric tons of plastic waste were either thrown out or not recycled by the nation of nearly 1.4 billion people in 2019.
该国的废物管理系统无法应对其不断发展的城市和村庄。这意味着大部分废物没有得到回收，最终污染了环境。“数据看世界”发现，2019 年，这个拥有近14亿人口的国家有近1300万吨塑料垃圾被丢弃或未回收。
 
Ravi Agarwal is the director of Toxic Link, a New Delhi-based group that supports waste management. Agarwal said the ban was a "good beginning," but its success will depend on how well it is carried out. The actual enforcement of the law will be in the hands of individual states and cities.
拉维·阿加瓦尔是总部位于新德里的支持废物管理的组织Toxic Link的负责人。阿加瓦尔说，这项禁令是一个“好的开始”，但它的成功将取决于它的执行情况。该禁令的实际执行将掌握在各个州和城市手中。
 
Government officials said they banned products that could be replaced by other materials, such as bamboo spoons, plantain trays, and wooden ice-cream sticks. But in the days leading up to the ban, many food sellers said they did not fully understand.
政府官员表示，他们禁止使用可以被其他材料替代的产品，例如竹勺、芭蕉盘和木制冰淇淋棒。但在禁令出台前的几天里，许多食品销售商表示他们并不完全理解。
 
Moti Rahman sells vegetables in New Delhi. He said customers would carefully pick out fresh summer produce before he put them in a plastic bag.
莫蒂·拉赫曼在新德里卖菜。他说，顾客会仔细挑选新鲜的夏季农产品，然后再将它们放入塑料袋中。
 
Rahman said that he agrees with the ban. But he added that if plastic bags are banned without a cost-effective replacement, his business will be affected.
拉赫曼说他同意禁令。但是，如果塑料袋在没有更优替代品的情况下被禁止，他的生意就会受到影响。
 
Rahman said, "After all, plastic is used in everything."
拉赫曼说：“毕竟，塑料用于一切。”
 
I'm Gregory Stachel.
格雷戈里·斯塔切尔报道。