From plastic food packaging to candy wrappers, where do you think trash ends up? Each year, the US alone generates 230 million tons of garbage; the majority of the trash is either incinerated or buried in landfills. Only about one-quarter of the trash that US produce is recycled.
從塑料食品包裝到糖果包裝紙，你認為垃圾都到哪裡去了?僅美國每年就產生2.3億噸垃圾;大部分垃圾不是被焚燒就是被填埋。美國生產的垃圾中只有大約四分之一是可回收的。
The Great Pacific garbage patch, which is a massive plastic garbage floating halfway between Hawaii and California, has grown to 1.6 million square kilometers or about thrice the size of France. The worst part? This floating patch of trash is just one of the five offshore plastic accumulation zones in the world's oceans. We are faced with a worsening garbage problem and yet, there is no real way of cleaning up the oceans and eliminating plastic trash. With 2.41 million tons of plastic garbage choking marine life, finding better alternatives to single-use plastic products is more important than ever before.
大太平洋垃圾帶，漂浮在夏威夷和加利福尼亞之間，現在已經擴大到160萬平方公里，大約是法國的三倍大。最可怕的是這片漂浮的垃圾只是世界海洋中五個近海塑料堆積區之一,我們面臨著日益惡化的垃圾問題，然而，沒有真正的方法來清理海洋和消除塑料垃圾.隨著241萬噸塑料垃圾窒息海洋生物，尋找更好的替代一次性塑料產品比以往任何時候都更為重要。
What are Biodegradable Disposables Made of?
可生物降解的一次性用品是由什麼製成的?
Most biodegradable plates and compostable disposables are made from bagasse, bamboo, recycled paper, cornstarch, and even fallen leaves.
大多數可生物降解的盤子和可降解的一次性物品都是由甘蔗渣、竹子、再生紙、玉米澱粉甚至落葉製成的。
Degradable tableware
Why Switch to Biodegradable Plates and Compostable Disposables?
為什麼要改用可生物降解的盤子和可堆肥的一次性物品呢?
Most of the garbage that ends up in landfills and oceans is made up of plastic food packaging. Using biodegradable products may reduce the trash that ends up in landfills and the world’s oceans.
垃圾填埋場和海洋裡的大部分垃圾都是塑料食品包裝。使用生物可降解產品可以減少垃圾填埋場和世界海洋中的垃圾。
Unfortunately, food and plastic packaging manufacturers are finding more and more reasons for using plastic food packaging. Plastic is widely used because it’s a cheap and accessible material. Disposable containers are convenient to use but their negative impact on the environment cannot be ignored. It is also worth noting that single-use plastic products are not made from sustainable materials. It will also take a long, long time before plastic materials decompose so using these will only add up to our growing trash problem.
不幸的是，食品和塑料包裝製造商正在尋找越來越多的理由使用塑料食品包裝。塑料被廣泛使用，因為它是一種廉價和容易獲得的材料。一次性塑料容器使用方便，但其對環境的負面影響不容忽視。值得注意的是，一次性塑料製品不是由可持續材料製成的。塑料材料還需要很長很長的時間才能分解，所以使用這些材料只會增加我們日益增長的垃圾問題。
Biodegradable plates and compostable disposables are just as convenient to use as single-use plastic products sans the negative impact on the environment. These products do not deplete the earth’s natural resources. Biodegradable plates and compostable disposables will not harm the environment because they will break down completely once discarded.
可生物降解的盤子和可降解的一次性物品使用起來和一次性塑料製品一樣方便，不會對環境造成負面影響。這些產品不會耗盡地球的自然資源。可生物降解的盤子和可分解的一次性物品不會對環境造成危害，因為它們一旦被丟棄就會完全分解。
Benefits of Using Biodegradable Plates and Compostable Disposables
使用可生物降解的盤子和可被堆肥的一次性物品的好處
l Environmentally Friendly Entertaining
l 環保娛樂
If you have guests over or you are hosting a party, you’ll probably use a lot of plates and cutlery. Rather than using plastic plates, plastic spoons and forks, use paper plates and wooden cutlery. These products are just as useful as traditional plastic plates and cutlery but they are more eco-friendly.
如果你有客人來訪或者你要舉辦一個聚會，你可能會用很多盤子和餐具。與其使用塑料盤子、塑料湯匙和塑料叉子，不如使用紙盤和木製餐具。這些產品和傳統的塑料盤子和餐具一樣有用，但它們更環保。
Plates and cutlery made from biodegradable materials are more environmentally friendly because these do not leave behind toxic chemicals or residues. In addition, these products degrade over time, releasing earth-friendly nutrients back into the soil. Sure, biodegradable plates and wooden cutlery may be more expensive than single-use plastic products but the price difference is quite small. It’s just a small price to pay for hosting an environmentally sound party!
由可生物降解材料製成的盤子和餐具更環保，因為它們不會留下有毒化學物質或殘留物。此外，隨著時間的推移，這些產品會降解，釋放對地球有益的營養物質到土壤中。當然，可生物降解的盤子和木製餐具可能比一次性塑料製品更貴，但價格差別很小。這只是舉辦一個環保派對的小小代價!
l Easy Composting
l 簡單堆肥
Making your own compost is a great way to transform kitchen and yard wastes into something useful for the garden. You can also sell your own compost; it’s a great way to boost your earnings. Using eco-friendly plates and cutlery makes composting much more convenient. You can simply toss the discarded biodegradable plates into your compost bin. This makes post-party cleanup much easier too.
自己製作堆肥是把廚房和院子裡的廢物變成對花園有用的東西的好方法。你也可以出售自己的堆肥;這是增加收入的好方法。使用環保的盤子和餐具使堆肥更加方便。你可以簡單地把丟棄的可生物降解的盤子扔到你的堆肥箱裡。這也使得聚會後的清理工作更加容易。
l Energy Efficient
l 節能
Did you know that making biodegradable plates and compostable disposables are more energy efficient compared to manufacturing single-use plastics? Plates and cutlery that degrade require less energy to be manufactured. In addition, the materials used for biodegradable plates and cutlery are renewable so they will not deplete the earth’s natural resources. Usually, these products are made from sugarcane, bamboo, corn, etc.
你知道製造可生物降解的盤子和可分解的一次性物品比製造一次性塑料更節能嗎?可降解的盤子和餐具需要更少的能量來製造。此外，用於生物降解的盤子和餐具的材料是可再生的，因此它們不會消耗地球的自然資源。這些產品通常由甘蔗、竹子、玉米等製成。
In addition, manufacturers of biodegradable products are more mindful of their own carbon footprint and are likely to take steps to reduce the greenhouse gases they produce. Using biodegradable plates and compostable disposables will definitely reduce your carbon footprint too.
此外，可降解產品的製造商更關注自己的碳足跡，並可能採取措施減少他們生產的溫室氣體。使用可生物降解的盤子和可堆肥的一次性物品也一定會減少你的碳足跡。
l Non-Toxic
l 無毒
Plastic products, particularly food packaging, are notorious for leaching toxic chemicals to food. That’s because single-use plastics are treated with a cocktail of chemicals including dyes, bleaches, and inks. Some of these products are safe, others not so much. For instance, plastic bottles release harmful chemicals like Bisphenol A when exposed to hot drinks. These chemicals affect the endocrine system, causing a variety of health problems ranging from hormonal imbalance, metabolic problems, to certain cancers.
塑料製品，尤其是食品包裝，因將有毒化學物質浸出到食品中而臭名昭著。這是因為一次性塑料是用包括染料、漂白劑和墨水在內的化學混合物來處理的。這些產品有些是安全的，有些則不那麼安全。例如，塑料瓶接觸熱飲料時會釋放有害的化學物質，如雙酚A。這些化學物質影響內分泌系統，導致各種健康問題，從激素失衡、代謝問題到某些癌症。
The same thing cannot be said for biodegradable disposables. These products are plastic-free; they are made from plant-based materials that are 100% safe and earth-friendly. Because biodegradable disposables are made from non-toxic materials, you can enjoy your hot meals and drinks without worrying about chemicals making their way into your food.
對於可生物降解的一次性用品，情況就不同了。這些產品不含塑料;它們是由100%安全環保的植物材料製成的。因為可生物降解的一次性物品是由無毒材料製成的，你可以盡情享受熱騰騰的飯菜和飲料，而不必擔心化學物質會進入你的食物。
