The problem with disposable coffee
外带咖啡纸杯的“回收难题”
Millions of us grab a coffee on our way to work. And when we do, it probably comes served in a branded, disposable, cardboard coffee cup. Once the coffee is done, just pop the cup into a recycling bin and forget about it. The cup will be taken away and turned into a new one for you to use again tomorrow. The system works, right?
数百万人习惯在上班的路上喝杯咖啡，这些咖啡杯可能是品牌的，一次性的纸板杯子。喝完后就把杯子扔进垃圾桶里，无需再放在心上。有人会把杯子拿走并将其变成一个新的杯子，第二天再利用。这是有效的，对吧？
There's a hitch. In the UK, we throw away an estimated 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups every year. And despite being recyclable in theory, in practice only very few of them are dealt with in a way that makes them sustainable. This makes them a bit of an obstacle. What throws a spanner in the works is the layer of polyethylene that makes the cup waterproof, and the lid, which is most often made of polystyrene. As a result, most of the cups end up in landfill.
有一个问题。在英国，我们每年扔掉大约25亿个一次性咖啡杯。尽管这些杯子理论上是可循环利用的，但在实践中，只有很少部分能得到可持续利用。这就成为了一个问题。其中的问题在于杯子的防水聚乙烯层，以及通常由聚苯乙烯制成的盖子。因此，大多数杯子都被当废物处理掉了。
But there are efforts underway to tackle this issue. One company, Biome Bioplastics, has come up with a fully compostable, recyclable cup that uses natural materials, such as potato starch, as waterproofing. Mr Mines, its chief executive, believes that this is the first time bioplastic has been used for disposable cups and lids that have to cope with hot liquid. And they're still fully recyclable.
但是目前正在努力解决这个问题。一家名为BiomeBioplastics的公司已经开发出一种完全可降解、可回收的杯子。它使用天然材料，如土豆淀粉，作为防水材料。该公司首席执行官明恩认为，这是生物塑料首次被用于一次性杯子和盖子，这些杯子和盖子必须能耐高温。而且它们仍然是完全可回收的。
Another feasible solution has been proposed by Frugalpac, who have patented a cup with a lightly-attached plastic lining. This can be easily separated during the recycling and 'offers a more pragmatic solution' than changing our current recycling habits, says Frugalpac's founder Martin Myerscough.
Frugalpac公司提出了另一种可行的解决方案。他们已经为一种带有轻质塑料衬里的杯子申请了专利。Frugalpac的创始人马丁·迈尔斯科说，这可以在回收过程中很容易地分离出来，而且比起改变我们目前的回收习惯“提供了一个更实用的解决方案”。
Safia Qureshi says India has provided the inspiration for her solution. She puts forward that we use returnable and reusable cups, which are tracked and collected by her company Cup Club. They will be responsible for collecting, washing and redistributing the clean cups to participating retailers.
库雷希说，印度为她的解决方案提供了灵感。她提出我们使用可回收和可重复使用的杯子，这些杯子是由她所在公司的杯子俱乐部跟踪和收集的。他们将负责收集、清洗和重新分发干净的杯子给参与的零售商。
One final example of lateral thinking comes from Cupffee. This trio from Bulgaria have combined cereals to form a cup which can be eaten once the drink is finished. It is apparently sweet and crisp, can hold a coffee for up to 40 minutes and will biodegrade within weeks.
横向思维的最后一个例子来自Cupffee。这三个来自保加利亚的人将谷物混合物制成杯子，喝完后可以将杯子吃掉。它明显又甜又脆，可以盛咖啡40分钟，几周内就会降解。
Whether any of these innovative ideas are a perfect fit for this disposable issue, only time will tell. It's possible that a more viable solution has yet to be ventured, though it may not be long in coming. All it may require is a little more thinking outside the box… or should that be coffee cup?
这些创新的想法是否完全适合这个一次性的问题，只有时间能告诉我们答案。一个更可行的解决方案可能还没有出台，尽管可能不会太久。它所需要的只是更多的跳出框框思考……或者应该是咖啡杯？
词汇表
hitch
小问题
in theory
理论上
obstacle
障碍
throw a spanner in the works
从中捣乱，打乱计划
tackle
解决，处理
issue
问题
come up with
提出、想出（主意）
feasible
行得通的，可行的
propose
提出
offer a solution
给出解决方案
pragmatic
实用的，重实效的
inspiration
灵感
put forward
提出（建议、想法等）
lateral thinking
横向思维，发散式思维
perfect fit
完美的答案
viable
可行的，可望成功的
venture
冒险去做，大胆尝试
thinking outside the box
以新的眼光看问题，跳出传统思维框架