The trash mountains in China's major cities are about to get considerably smaller， following a State Council resolution banning the use of flimsy plastic bags.

中國大城市中的垃圾山這回可要“瘦身”了，因?yàn)閲鴦?wù)院頒布了限制使用塑料袋的法令。

The ban， which comes into effect on June 1st， is another step forward in the Government's plan to host a \"Green Olympics\" when the Games come to Beijing in August.

該法令將于6月1日生效，是中國政府為了創(chuàng)造8月份的“綠色奧運(yùn)”而頒布的新舉措。

Beijing， which employs an army of rubbish collectors and recyclers， is trying desperately to improve its image before the eyes of the world fall on the city. Along with initiatives to get rid of the city's smog and to beat the \"Four Evils\" – spitting， swearing， smoking and shoving – Beijing has launched several large recycling drives and public awareness campaigns to try and beat the litter. So， as part of this drive towards a greener Beijing， plastic bags have to go.

北京政府招募了大批的垃圾清潔工清掃垃圾，期望在全球注目的那一刻徹底改變城市的形象。在積極地處理大氣污染和掃除“四害”（吐痰、說臟話、吸煙和橫穿馬路）的同時(shí)，北京也發(fā)起了多項(xiàng)回收垃圾以及引起公眾意識(shí)的活動(dòng)。因此，作為創(chuàng)造綠色北京的必備條件，塑料袋必須消失。

China's plastic bag consumption – the largest in the world – means that at present the country uses 37 million barrels of oil per year just to meet demand. One report even mentions that China \"uses over 3 billion shopping bags a day\"- That's the equivalent of EVERYONE in the country using two new shopping bags daily!

目前，中國是世界上塑料袋消費(fèi)最大的國家，這就意味著為了滿足需求中國每年要消耗掉3.7千萬桶油。有報(bào)道甚至稱中國“每天能用掉30億塑料購物袋”——這相當(dāng)于每個(gè)中國人每天用2個(gè)塑料袋！

In a global economy rapidly running out of resources， China's ban is being heralded as a responsible， and much-needed， environmental policy. Christopher Flavin， president of Worldwatch Institute， a Washington-based environmental research group， claimed that \"China is ahead of the US with this policy.\"

在全球經(jīng)濟(jì)快速消耗能源的今天，中國的這一舉措將吹響保護(hù)環(huán)境責(zé)任重大的號(hào)角。世界觀察研究所（總部在華盛頓的環(huán)境研究組織）主席克里斯托夫#8226;夫拉文聲稱：“該舉措讓中國領(lǐng)先于美國。”

Environmental campaigners Greenpeace echoed his sentiments， releasing a statement saying: \"The State Council's announcement to ban free plastic bags is a perfect case to combine two of the major forces in environment protection: public participation and government policy guidance.\"

綠色和平組織也贊同中國的這一做法，發(fā)表聲明說：“中國國務(wù)院頒布限制使用塑料袋的規(guī)定將保護(hù)環(huán)境的兩大力量恰當(dāng)?shù)芈?lián)系起來：公眾參與和政府引導(dǎo)。”

The ban was announced on the Government's web site on December 31st 2007， and includes rules and regulations for the sale and disposal of plastic bags. Companies caught breaking the rules face heavy fines， and rubbish collectors and disposal firms are encouraged to make greater efforts to recycle the plastic bags they collect， rather than burning or burying them.

這項(xiàng)禁令于2007年12月31日發(fā)布在政府的官方網(wǎng)站上，禁令中對(duì)銷售和處理塑料垃圾的行為進(jìn)行了限定和約束。違反規(guī)定的公司須接受巨額罰款，而環(huán)衛(wèi)公司也需盡最大努力回收垃圾而不是以焚燒或填埋的方式處理垃圾。

\"Our country consumes a large amount of plastic bags. While convenient for consumers， the bags also lead to a severe waste of resources and environmental pollution because of their excessive use and low rate of recycling，\" the statement at governmental web site www.gov.cn said. \"The ultra-thin bags are the main source of 'white' pollution as they can easily get broken and end up as litter.\"

“我國塑料袋消費(fèi)量龐大。雖然塑料袋給消費(fèi)者帶來了便利，但由于使用量過多，回收率過低，塑料袋使用也造成了資源浪費(fèi)和環(huán)境污染，”中國政府在官網(wǎng)上如是說，“另外，極易破損而成為垃圾的超薄塑料袋還是‘白色’污染的主要來源?！?/p>

Under the new legislation companies will be prohibited from manufacturing， selling or using bags less than 0.0025 millimetres thick. Instead， the government is encouraging a return to reusable cloth bags， hand-trolleys， and baskets.

該法規(guī)規(guī)定任何公司不得生產(chǎn)、銷售和使用厚度低于0.0025毫米的袋子。但政府鼓勵(lì)公民重新使用布袋、手推車和籃子。

The new ban follows an increasing global trend in the fight against pollution and resource consumption – countries from Ireland to Bangladesh have passed laws discouraging the use of plastic bags， and last year， San Francisco became the first US city to ban petroleum-based plastic bags in large grocery stores.

中國的這一舉措順應(yīng)了全球抵制污染和資源消費(fèi)的潮流——愛爾蘭和孟加拉國都已經(jīng)頒布了限制使用塑料袋的法令，去年，舊金山更是成為了美國第一個(gè)禁止在大型連鎖店使用含有石油原料的塑料袋的城市。

In China， plastic bags are given out routinely with even the smallest items， and while the ban may lead to mild inconvenience for both shopkeepers and customers， many people believe that the trouble is a small price to pay for a cleaner China. A Beijing storekeeper， known only by his surname， Wang， said the measure may reduce initial sales， but would be better in the long run.

在中國，塑料袋四處橫行，即使是一個(gè)微小的物件都要用塑料袋裝，雖然這項(xiàng)法令可能會(huì)給店主和消費(fèi)者帶來不便，但很多人相信清潔工的低工資才是真正的問題。一名姓王的北京店主稱，雖然該舉措剛開始會(huì)降低商店的營業(yè)額，但從長遠(yuǎn)來看還是切實(shí)可行的。

\"It's a bother， but these bags do create a lot of pollution， so it should be a good thing\" he said. \"(the ban) will not affect my costs too much- I only spend 10rmb ($1.25) on bags every month.\"

他說：“該法規(guī)會(huì)給我?guī)砺闊?，但塑料袋的確會(huì)造成污染，所以這個(gè)法規(guī)還是很好的，而且它也不會(huì)影響我的購買費(fèi)用，每月我只花10塊（1.25美元）買塑料袋。”

Residents of Beijing do not appear to be vastly affected by the ban， and most agree that despite the inconvenience， it is a necessary step for the government to take. College student Xu Lixian pointed out: \"if we can reduce waste and save resources， then it's good for both us and the whole world. I think this shows that China is being a responsible country.\"

而北京市民似乎也沒太受該法規(guī)的影響，大部分人認(rèn)為雖然沒有塑料袋會(huì)造成不便，但這是保護(hù)環(huán)境的必行之路。一名叫徐立先（音譯）的大學(xué)生指出：“如果我們能減少垃圾，節(jié)約能源，那么這對(duì)我們和整個(gè)世界都有好處。我認(rèn)為這個(gè)規(guī)定說明了中國是個(gè)有責(zé)任感的國家?！?/p>

Beijing businessman Zhang Guo said \"I think it is a good idea. We should think more about the planet. The bags are bad for the environment， and a nuisance.\" (Source : Associated Press)

在北京做生意的張國（音譯）說：“我認(rèn)為這是個(gè)好主意。我們應(yīng)該多為這個(gè)星球考慮。塑料袋污染環(huán)境而且本身就讓人討厭?！保ㄔ醋裕好缆?lián)社）