世界觀察研究所報告:瓶裝水的環境成本極為昂貴

Worldwatch Decries Environmental Cost of Bottled Water

瓶裝水這個全世界成長最迅速的飲料有著昂貴的環境成本，不但增加掩埋垃圾的塑膠量，也對天然泉水水源造成壓力。當許多發達國家中的人購買瓶裝水，以喝到安全、潔凈、口感好的水，並且展現社會地位時，全世界還有10億多最貧困人口喝不到潔凈的飲用水。華盛頓世界觀察研究所(Worldwatch Institute)報告說，在發達國家，瓶裝水的檢驗標準可能比普通自來水還低，且瓶裝水對環境的衝擊可溯及其來源，因為當「過度汲水」做瓶裝水時，一些地方的溪流和地下水層就會逐漸枯竭。

As the world’s fastest-growing commercial beverage, bottled water is racking up high environmental costs with the plastic content it adds to landfill wastes and the pressures it exerts on natural sources of spring water. While people in more advanced nations can purchase safety, cleanliness and taste with their bottled water of choice, and show off their social status while they’re at it, more than a billion of the poorest people on the planet have no access to clean drinking water at all. Meanwhile, a recent report from the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute indicates that testing standards for bottled water sold in developed countries can often be less stringent than those for regular tap water and that the environmental impact of the bottled water industry can extend right up to the water’s very source, as over-extraction depletes stream and groundwater resources.

除了製造、裝瓶、包裝、儲存和運送瓶裝水所耗費的能源以外，製造瓶裝水容器所需的數百萬噸從石化塑料，也帶來很大的環境負擔。大多數瓶裝水的塑膠瓶用聚乙烯對苯二甲酸酯(PET)製造，回收再利用時消耗較少能源，且在燃燒時不會釋放氯。但報告指出，PET的回收再利用率呈現下降趨勢，美國在2005年的PET塑膠瓶再利用率僅為23.1%，較10年前的39.7%下降。

In addition to the energy consumed in the production, bottling, shipping and storage of bottled water, the millions of tons of petroleum-derived plastics needed for container manufacture also place a heavy burden on the environment. Most commercial water is packaged in PET bottles (polyethylene terephthalate) which are inexpensive to recycle and do not release chlorine if burned. The Worldwatch report shows that, however, the reusage rate of PET bottles is decreasing, reaching only 23.1% in the USA in 2005, down from 39.7% ten years previously. 

詐騙集團 criminal syndicate, fraudsters, scammers, swindlers

朝代興衰 dynasty cycle

release energy/ gas

漁業 fish-farming industry

來源 source  e.g. water source    資源 resource

rack up = pile up = stack up

stringent standard, criteria

still water   fizzy water(氣泡水) carbonated water(百事,可口)   soda water