第2319期:In Taiwan, Turning Trash into Sunglasses

A workshop in Taipei, Taiwan, is giving new life to bottle caps, food packaging, old toys, and other kinds of plastic waste. 台湾台北的一家工厂正在为瓶盖、食品包装、旧玩具和其他类型的塑料垃圾赋予新的生命。 The zero-waste workshop known as Trash Kitchen gives people hands-on experience in the recycling process. 被称为“垃圾厨房”的零废物车间为人们提供了回收过程的实践经验。 People take plastic waste, then soften and shape it into a pair of sunglasses within two hours. 人们收集塑料垃圾，然后在两小时内将其软化并塑造成一副太阳镜。 Arthur Huang started the company that holds the workshop. He spoke to Reuters news agency. He said: "What we are trying to show in the Trash Kitchen is to let you see, feel, touch within minutes how this process can actually work without secondary pollution, and you can actually turn it into something of value directly in front of you." Arthur Huang 创办了举办研讨会的公司。 他接受了路透社的采访。 他说：“我们在垃圾厨房里试图展示的是让你在几分钟之内看到、感觉到、触摸到这个过程是如何在没有二次污染的情况下实际进行的，并且你实际上可以直接在你面前把它变成有价值的东西 ”。Huang is the founder of Miniwiz. The company recycles waste material into goods that people want to buy. Miniwiz also produces tiles, bricks, hangers and other daily necessities from plastic and organic waste. 黄先生是Miniwiz的创始人。 该公司将废料回收成人们想要购买的商品。 Miniwiz 还利用塑料和有机废物生产瓷砖、砖块、衣架和其他日常用品。 Huang said the company uses a machine it developed in 2017 called a "miniTrashpresso." The machine processes the waste material for a new use. 黄说，该公司使用 2017 年开发的一款名为“miniTrashpresso”的机器。 该机器将废料加工成新用途。 Kora Hsieh is editor-in-chief for fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar Taiwan. Hsieh said the project making sunglasses is a good way to bring attention to sustainable fashion. 谢家华 (Kora Hsieh) 是台湾时尚杂志《Harper's Bazaar》的主编。 谢家华表示，制作太阳镜的项目是引起人们对可持续时尚关注的好方法。 "I think environmental protection and fashion still have a long way to go. As for consumers, it is important for them to get first-hand experience, so a workshop like this is very helpful," she said. “我认为环保和时尚还有很长的路要走。对于消费者来说，获得第一手的体验很重要，所以像这样的工作坊非常有帮助。”她说。People taking part in the workshop said it made them think twice about producing trash and made them pay more attention to reusable goods. 参加研讨会的人们表示，这让他们对产生垃圾三思而后行，并让他们更加关注可重复使用的物品。 "I have two children. I need to think about their future," said business owner Debbie Wu. “我有两个孩子。我需要考虑他们的未来，”企业主黛比吴说。 "If you throw away trash without thinking, you kick the problem down the road. So, if everyone can do their best, recycle and use less plastic, that will make a big difference," Wu said.“如果你不假思索地扔掉垃圾，你就会把问题抛到一边。因此，如果每个人都能尽最大努力，回收并减少使用塑料，那将会产生很大的变化，”吴说。 Data from the Ministry of Environment estimates that Taiwan produced a record 11.6 million metric tons of waste in 2023. More than 6 million tons of that waste was recyclable. 环境部的数据估计，2023 年台湾产生了创纪录的 1160 万吨废物。其中超过 600 万吨废物是可回收的。