VOA慢速英语:Could Waste Plastic Reduce Our Need for Oil?

The United States Environmental Protection Agency says only seven percent of plastic waste in the United States is recycled each year. A new company in northern New York says it can increase that percentage. It also says it can help the United States reduce the amount of oil it imports. 
美国环境保护署称美国每年只有7%的塑料废物得到回收，纽约北部的一家新公司称可以增加回收率，还可以帮助美国减少石油进口量。

The company has a machine it calls the “plastic-eating monster.” Every hour, thousands of kilograms of milk jugs, water bottles, and grocery bags are fed into the machine. The plastic waste comes from landfills across the United States. John Bordnyniuk runs the company, called JBI.
该公司有一台名为“吞食塑料怪物”的机器，每小时向这台机器喂食数千公斤牛奶壶、水瓶和购物袋。美国各地的垃圾堆都有塑料废物，John Bordnyniuk是这家名为JBI的公司的负责人。

“Basically they’ve been mining their own piles for us and sending them here.”
“基本上说他们一直在挖垃圾堆，然后把垃圾送给我们。”

Mr. Bordyniuk has invented a new process for turning plastic into fuel. First, many different kinds of unwashed plastics are melted together.
Bordnyniuk发明了将塑料转化为燃料的新工序，首先是将各种废弃塑料融化在一起。

“The viscosity is close to what milk would be like. Almost like when you’re heating milk on the stove. Looks exactly like that, except its black.”
“融化后的粘度相当于牛奶的粘度，就像在炉子上加热牛奶那样，除了是黑色的外一模一样。”

Mr. Bordyniuk uses a special chemical to turn the fluid into a vapor. This reduces the plastic to its most basic elements.
Bordyniuk用一种专门的化学品将液体转化为气体，这就将塑料减少到几种关键的成分。

 “Plastics are just long hydrocarbon chains. What we’re doing is re-forming them into links and chains that we want so they have a high fuel value.”
“塑料只是长的烃链，我们要做的就是重新组合其链接，这样就使其具有高的热功率。”

Eight percent of the recycled plastic is used to run the system. Independent testers say eighty-six percent of what goes in comes out as fuel.
8%的回收塑料用于运转这个系统，独立测试者称输入进去的86%的塑料变成了燃料。

Bob Molodynia helps run the company. He watches as the plastic-eating machine pours a thin, brown liquid into an oil barrel.
Bob Molodynia协助运作这家公司，他看着这台吞食塑料机器将褐色稀薄的液体倒入油桶。

“You could tap this right now and this is ready to go. That’s a number six fuel, that’s what a lot of like US Steel uses, a lot of major companies, that’s what they pay the big bucks for, right there.”
“这个现在就可以用了，这是6号燃油，美国很多钢铁公司就用这种油，他们在这方面花了很多钱。”

JBI produces several thousand liters of fuel a day. It creates different grades of fuel for different industries. It sells the fuel for up to one hundred dollars a barrel. Each barrel costs about ten dollars to produce.
JBI每天生产数千公升燃油，能为各个行业生产不同级别的燃油，一桶油的卖价高达100美元，每桶油的生产成本大约是10美元。

John Bordyniuk believes plastics will become an important source of fuel for the United States. He says this will reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil and reduce the amount of plastic waste in its landfills.
John Bordyniuk认为塑料将是美国燃油的重要来源，他说这将减少美国对外国油的依赖，减少垃圾堆里的塑料垃圾。

Scientists say plastic-to-oil technology is still new and developing. They say it is not yet known if the process is environmentally friendly. And some question whether turning plastic into oil can even be considered “recycling.”
科学家称将塑料转化为油的技术仍很新颖，还需进一步改善。他们说尚不清楚这个过程是否危害环境，也有人质疑这种将塑料转化为油的过程是否可以称作“回收”。

Carson Maxted is with the publication Resource Recycling, a magazine that reports on the plastic recycling industry. He says because there is a lot of plastic waste and a great demand for oil, JBI’s recycling technology may create great changes in both industries.
Carson Maxted 就职于一家名为《资源再生》的杂志，该杂志报道塑料回收业的动态。他说由于塑料垃圾很多，对燃油的需求也很大，因此JBI的回收技术可以给这两个产业带来巨大变革。

 “So they’re getting value from something that would otherwise go to the landfill, things that wouldn’t be accepted into a recycler.”
“因此他们是在从垃圾堆里创造价值，这些东西原本不会进入回收装置的。”