0 返回首页1.阅读理解 Environmental experts

0 返回首页1.阅读理解 Environmental experts warn that our planet is drowning in plastic. The world's cities produce 2 billion tons of trash every year. By the year 2050 that number is expected to rise to 3 billion tons. The World Bank estimates that the largest amount of trash today, about 44 percent, is plastic. But we often have to buy packaged goods. And often that packaging is made of plastic. Now, that may be changing. A new environmentally-friendly shopping model was recently launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. This shopping model, called Loop, aims to replace throwaway containers with reusable ones. Loop is the idea of Terra Cycle, an American-based recycling company. Its chief, Tom Szaky told the Associated Press (AP) that "removing plastics from the ocean is not enough." He said the point is to get away from single-use packages. Szaky said that Loop is the future of shopping. But it comes from an idea of the past. He compared it to the "milkman model" of the 1950s in the United States. Back then, someone brought milk to your doorstep in glass bottles and then left with empty bottles. These could be cleaned and used again. The result is zero-waste. Jennifer Morgan from the environmental non-profit organization Greenpeace also joined in the discussion about Loop at Davos. She said that "Greenpeace welcomes the aim of the Loop Alliance to move away from throwaway culture and disposability." But Morgan questioned whether companies worldwide are ready to change their business models. Loop is set to launch later this year in three eastern U.S. states, and also in Paris, France and some of the surrounding area. Then Loop plans to expand to the U.S. West Coast, Toronto, Canada and Britain by the end of this year or 2020.