徹底禁用塑料無助環保 或增加溫室氣體排放量

An outright ban on plastics could cause even more harm to the environment and lead to triple the amount of greenhouse gas emissions.

完全禁用塑料可能對環境造成更大的危害，導致溫室氣體排放量增加至之前的三倍。

That's the finding of experts from Herriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, who say that replacing plastic with Alternate materials such as metal and glass won't help the environment.

這是愛丁堡赫里奧特-瓦特大學的專家得出的結論。專家表示，用金屬和玻璃等替代材料取代塑料並不會有益環境。

The team say this is because the manufacturing of these replacements could double global energy consumption.

研究小組表示，這是因爲製造這些替代品可能使全球能源消耗增加一倍。

Resources required to process these replacement materials would lead to more energy consumption and more greenhouse gas.

加工這些替代材料所需的資源將產生更多的能源消耗和溫室氣體。

Campaigners have called for reductions or bans, with recent programs such as the BBC's Blue Planet highlighting the impact of plastics on the world's oceans.

環保人士呼籲減少或禁用塑料，英國廣播公司《藍色星球》等近期的電視節目也重點強調了塑料對海洋的影響。

But the team of forty academics said arguments surrounding a reduction or ban are 'often shortsighted and not based on facts'.

研究小組表示，減少或禁用塑料的觀點“往往缺乏遠見，也缺乏事實依據”。該小組由40名學者組成。

The waste products produced when making metal and glass are all bad for the environment.

製造金屬和玻璃的過程中產生的廢品都對環境有害。

The major environmental impact of glass and metal production is caused by atmospheric emissions from melting activities.

製造玻璃和金屬對環境的主要影響是由熔化過程中產生的大氣排放造成的。

The combustion of natural gas/fuel oil and the decomposition of raw materials during the melting lead to the emission of CO2.

熔化過程中天然氣或燃油的燃燒和原材料的分解會排放二氧化碳。

Professor David Bucknall, who led the research, said that transportation of consumer goods in plastic packaging means fewer vehicles because plastic is lightweight.

研究負責人大衛-巴克內爾教授說，運輸塑料包裝的消費品使用的車輛更少，因爲塑料很輕。

Therefore burning less fuel and greatly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

因此需要燃燒的燃料更少，能夠極大地減少溫室氣體排放。

The academics draw expertise from engineering, science, economics and social science, said there needs to be a 'circular economy' for plastic usage.

研究學者們吸取了來自工程學、科學、經濟學和社會科學領域的專家意見，並提出，塑料的使用需要尊春“循環經濟”。

'Almost everything we touch or interact with on a daily basis is made of or contains a plastic of some description,' said Professor David Bucknall, chairman in materials chemistry from the university's Institute of Chemical Sciences.

大衛-巴克內爾教授說：“我們每天接觸或使用的幾乎所有物品都由塑料製成、或者含有某種形式的塑料。”他是赫里奧特-瓦特大學化學科學學會材料化學組的主席。

'Banning or reducing their use would have a massive impact on the way we live.

“減少或禁用塑料會對我們的生活方式造成很大影響。”

'So whilst some people may wish for plastics to be reduced or banned altogether, we need to ensure we are replacing them with materials that are better for the planet.

“因此儘管一些人可能希望減少或禁用塑料，但我們需要確保我們使用的替代材料更加環保。”

'In many cases there is no credible alternative to using a plastic so we need to move towards a "circular economy" for plastics, rather than the largely 'make-use-dispose' model we currently adopt.'

“在很多情況下，沒有可靠的材料來替代塑料的使用，所以塑料的使用需要遵循‘循環經濟’，而不是我們現在廣泛採用的‘用後即棄’模式。”