紐時賞析／研究稱 禁塑膠袋有助減少海岸線垃圾

Banning Plastic Bags Works to Limit Shoreline Litter, Study Finds

研究稱 禁塑膠袋有助減少海岸線垃圾

At tens of thousands of shoreline cleanups across the United States in recent years, volunteers logged each piece of litter they pulled from the edges of lakes, rivers and beaches into a global database.

在近年美國數萬場的海岸線清潔行動中，志工們將他們從湖泊、河流與海灘邊緣清理出的每一件垃圾，都記錄進一個全球資料庫中。

One of the most common entries? Plastic bags.

其中最常見的項目之一？塑膠袋。

But in places throughout the United States where plastic bags require a fee or have been banned, fewer bags end up at the water’s edge, according to research published Thursday in Science.

但根據周四刊登於期刊「科學」的研究，在美國各地那些對塑膠袋徵收費用或已禁止使用的地區，流落至水邊的塑膠袋數量顯著較少。

Lightweight and abundant, thin plastic bags often slip out of trash cans and recycling bins, travel in the wind and end up in bodies of water, where they pose serious risks to wildlife, which can become entangled or ingest them. They also break down into harmful microplastics, which have been found nearly everywhere on Earth.

塑膠袋輕巧且數量龐大，常常從垃圾桶或回收桶中飄出，隨風飄揚後落入水中。這些塑膠袋對野生動物構成嚴重威脅，牠們可能被纏住或誤食。塑膠袋也會分解為有害塑膠微粒，這些微粒如今幾已遍布地球每個角落。

Using data complied by the nonprofit Ocean Conservancy, researchers analyzed results from 45,067 shoreline cleanups between 2016 to 2023, along with a sample of 182 local and state policies enacted to regulate plastic shopping bags between 2017 and 2023.

研究員使用非營利組織海洋保護協會彙整的數據，分析2016年至2023年共4萬5067場淨灘活動，以及2017年至2023年所頒布規範塑膠購物袋使用的182項地方和國家政策樣本。

They found areas that adopted plastic bag policies saw a 25% to 47% reduction in the share of plastic bag litter on shorelines, when compared with areas without policies. The longer a policy was in place, the greater the reduction.

他們發現，與沒有實施政策的地區相比，採用政策的地區海岸線塑膠袋垃圾量減少25%至47%。實施政策的時間愈長，減少幅度愈大。

“These policies are effective, especially in areas with high concentrations of plastic litter,” said Anna Papp, one of the authors and an environmental economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

研究其中一名作者、麻省理工學院環境經濟學家安娜．帕普表示：「這些政策有效，特別是對於塑膠垃圾高度集中的地區。」

The research accounted for different types of policies, including complete bans, partial bans that allow some thicker plastic bags considered “reusable,” and charging shoppers fees for bags at checkout. They found that complete bans and fees led to greater reductions in bags on shorelines than partial bans.

這項研究考慮了不同類型的政策，包括完全禁用、部分禁用但允許使用被認為是「可重複使用」的較厚塑膠袋，以及在結帳時向顧客收取塑膠袋費用。他們發現，完全禁用和收取費用所減少的海岸塑膠袋，比實施部分禁令減少的還多。

The total amount of plastic bag debris found on shorelines in areas with and without policies increased over the study period but the increase in areas with plastic bag bans and fees was significantly less than those without.

研究期間，有和沒有實施政策區域的海岸塑膠垃圾總量都有所增加，但實施塑膠袋禁令和收費的區域，塑膠袋增幅明顯低於沒有實施相關政策的地區。

“It’s blowing down the rate of plastic bag litter,” said Kimberly Oremus, another author and an environmental economist at the University of Delaware. “It’s not reversing it. It’s not eliminating it.”

研究另一名作者、德拉瓦大學環境經濟學家金百莉．奧雷默斯表示：「它降低塑膠袋亂丟率。它沒有扭轉它，也沒有消除它。」

文／Christina Kelso　譯／羅方妤