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ENVIRONMENT
Mask Waste Problem
The Mask Waste Problem
た使い捨てマスク (中国、 2020年5月)
イルス感染症拡大防止のために使われた使い捨てマスクやフェ
このプラスチックごみは、 現在大きな問題となっています。 国
社のロイターは、「このコロナウイルスの時代に、 プラスチッ
とのコメントをしています。
AFP/AFLO
Used masks are creating
a lot of pollution
ding
ニマスクにはどのような問題点があり、 また
ためにできることは何ですか。
endémik]
パンデミック
spóuzabl]
一織布の
Since the beginning of the pandemic,
masks have been a necessary part of our
lives. Many people use disposable non-
woven masks. They are convenient to
use and are more effective than cloth 05
masks. One report says that 129 billion
09. virus [váiaras]
14. get washed into ~
〜に押し流される
25. fiber [fáibar]
31. turtle [tártl] *
32. string [stríŋ]
140
130
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
家庭用
医療用
産業用
0
2009 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 (年度)
■マスクの生産と輸入量の推移
2009年に新型インフルエンザの流行により生産されたマスクの在庫が大量発生
し、2010~11年の生産量が激減しました。 出典:日本衛生材料工業連合会
輸入数量
国内生産
face masks are being used in the world
each month. These masks protect us
from the virus, but now they are hurting
10 the environment. The pandemic is
creating lots of waste.
Face masks can be seen on the
ground all around us. Used masks may
blow into rivers and get washed into
15 the ocean. Some reports say that about
1.56 billion disposable masks entered
the ocean in 2020. That is 3% of all
masks made in the world. This means
that a very large number of people are
20 throwing their masks away the wrong
way.
Book
Book
Some people may think that non-
woven masks are made of paper.
In
fact, they are mostly made of plastic
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谷社
ENVIRONMENT 8
The Mask Waste Problem
fibers.
Therefore, they will
not 25
naturally disappear in the ocean. These
plastics will break down into smaller
plastics and stay in the environment
for hundreds of years.
This plastic
is harmful to creatures such as fish, 30
turtles, and birds. They become caught
in the strings around the masks. They
also may try to eat the masks. And
because we eat fish from the ocean, it
also becomes our problem.
One way to solve this problem is to
make masks with eco-friendly materials.
Now masks made of natural fibers are
being developed. However, most of the
masks being sold today are still made 40
of plastic. For now, it is important to
throw masks away the right way.
I
分
保坂 直紀著 「海洋プラスチック 永遠のごみの行方』 角川新書
堅達 京子他著『脱プラスチックへの挑戦 持続可能な地球と世界ビジネスの潮流」 山と渓
35
■使い捨てマスクが脚にからまったカモメ (英国、2020年7月)
使い捨てマスクを適切に廃棄することに加え、耳にかけるゴムを切って捨
てることで動物にマスクが絡まるリスクを減らそうと訴える人々もいます
RSPCA/AFP/AFL
12
G
VOICED
APA
NEWSBREAKS BASIC
