SOCIAL ISSUES

Environment

1. Write your opinions about the importance of recycling. Do Romanians

recycle?

Match the words with their definitions

1. a process of heating a material to a

a. waste materials temperature below its melting point to
effect a thermal decomposition
2. a service provided to households,
b. greenhouse effect typically in urban and suburban areas, of
removing household waste
3. a method of solid waste disposal in which
c. calcination
refuse is buried between layers of dirt
d. landfill 4. the act or process of gathering a crop
5. unusable or unwanted substance or
e. harvest
material
6. warming of the Earth's surface and lower
atmosphere caused by water vapour,
f. kerbside collection
carbon dioxide, and other trace gases in
the atmosphere

2. Reading

How does recycling work and should we really bother?

By Adam Vaughan
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 24 May 2009 16.41 BST

What is recycling?
The recycling process involves waste materials being collected, sorted and made into new
products and materials. The recycled product will often be the same thing it was before (a glass
wine bottle, for example) but can also be "downcycled" into a new product or material (glass
can be ground with other materials to make road surfacing).

Why should we bother recycling?

On a practical level, we have to recycle because we're running out of room to bury our rubbish:
experts suggest UK landfill sites will be full by 2017.
The main environmental benefit of recycling is reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Manufacturing new products from recycled material rather than new virgin material almost
always results in lower CO2 emissions. Making glass, for example, uses 300kg CO2 less per
tonne of glass when you recycle old glass rather than using raw materials (because
manufacturing virgin glass involves a carbon-intensive furnace process called calcination).
Recycling waste also reduces the amount of methane generated from biodegradable waste -
such as cardboard - breaking down in landfill. Although methane is released in relatively small
quantities in the UK (2.3m tones a year), it is a far more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2.
Aside from cutting emissions that contribute to global warming, recycling has the benefit of
preserving natural resources. Fewer trees need to be cut down, and fewer minerals and metals
need to be extracted from mines. Even when a natural resource is renewable if managed
sustainably - such as paper - harvesting it can still have negative environmental impacts. Forests
planted for paper, for example, are often monoculture plantations which are typically much less
species-rich than a natural forest.

What about benefits for me?

In the UK, recycling may eventually lead to a lower council tax bill. Local authorities have to pay
more for sending rubbish to landfill every year - in 2009, councils across England spent £620m
land-filling waste from homes. Figures obtained by consumer group Which? also suggest that if
we recycled better - by contaminating less of our recycling with food waste, for example - we
may one day save money on lower council tax bills.

Is recycling really greener than alternatives like incineration?

Yes, for most materials, according to an analysis commissioned by the government. In the case
of paper and cardboard, glass, plastics, aluminium and steel, recycling produces fewer
greenhouse gases than incineration.

How does the UK compare to other countries on recycling?

UK recycling rates currently stand at an average of 34.5% of all waste nationally, up from 11.2%
in 2000-01. But EU targets mean that councils must encourage homeowners to recycle 40% by
2012 - and 50% by 2020.
The UK is near the bottom of the European recycling league: in 2003, only Greece and Ireland
put a greater percentage of their waste into landfill and incinerators. UK recycling rates are very
similar to those in the US, where local authorities in 2007 recycled 33.4% of the waste they
collected.

Are fortnightly rubbish collections good or bad for recycling?

The government's waste agency Wrap says fortnightly collections increase recycling rates.
Research from the Local Government Association backs that up, and many councils with the
highest recycling rates also operate fortnightly collections.
What's better for the environment, kerbside or "comingled" collections?
Kerbside collections are where householders separate different types of recycling material,
such as glass and paper, while "comingled" means that all the material for a home's recycling
goes into one box or bag, and is then sorted at a facility.
Wrap says that kerbside collections, when possible, are the best choice for high quality recycled
material and cost effectiveness. Some industry experts suggest that comingled collections
increase recycling rates, but also increase the amount of contaminated material - cardboard
splattered with curry sauce, say - which then ends up in landfill.

Where does most of my recycling go?

Much of the material that's sorted for recycling in the UK goes to Asian countries to be recycled
into new materials and products. China is the main destination for paper and plastic, taking in
much of the 4.7 million tones of paper (55% of our paper exports) and half a million tones of
plastics exported (80% of plastic exports) in 2007.

Doesn't shipping materials overseas for recycling cancel out any carbon savings?
No. It may seem counterintuitive, but the carbon footprint of - for example - shipping waste
glass from the UK to Germany to recycle into new glass is actually lower than making new glass
from virgin materials here in the UK. The transport emissions involved are small compared with
the greenhouse gases produced when manufacturing glass from scratch.
The same rule - that transport is responsible for very little of the CO2 emitted when making
products - holds true for other materials. A government study in 2008 calculated that sending
British plastic and paper waste to China for recycling saves more CO2 than it emits. When you
factor in the fact that cargo ships that arrive in the UK full of consumer goods often return to
China carry material for recycling, the carbon savings are even greater.

Doesn't driving to the bottle bank release more CO2 than I save by recycling glass?
No. According to recycling experts Best Foot Forward, you're saving carbon by driving glass
bottles to the bottle bank - provided you take at least two wine bottles and don't drive further
than one kilometer. If you double up your trip for another purpose or recycle other materials
while you're visiting the recycling center, the net carbon balance looks even better.

Didn't prices drop for recycled materials, and aren't companies stockpiling it?
Prices for recycled materials such as paper and plastic did fall dramatically in late 2008, but so
did prices for new raw materials. Prices for recycled materials have since stable and are now
rising again. The government waste agency Wrap, says it sees no evidence that stockpiling is
happening now.

Is the UK planning to introduce a pay-as-you-throw scheme to encourage recycling?

"Pay-as-you-throw" (or "earn-as-you-recycle") schemes have been shunned by councils, but
they may one day find political and public favor. In such a system, you could potentially receive
a rebate on your council tax bill for recycling more - or a fine if you don't recycle enough.
Write your own opinions regarding the text above.

3. Vocabulary

Link the parts together to form a word and use them in the gaps:

green fill The essence of recycling is the fact that people need
land intuitive to save the quality of their land … by reducing waste
burial in … . This also leads to lower emissions of …
kerb recycle
gas and better breathable air. Among the best
counte house methods to recycle domestic rubbish is … . Thus,
r separating glass from paper and plastic will enable
foot side recycling or … . At the same time, if people … glass,
down pile for example, and drive only once a month to deposit
sur print their waste, the carbon … will be lower than making
stock face glass from virgin materials. It may be …, but it’s true.

Fill in the blanks with only one word:

Britain has a 1……… problem: for years it has chucked rubbish cheaply 2……… post-industrial
holes in the ground, 3……… than recycling or burning it. But waste in landfill emits greenhouse
gases as 4……… rots, and can poison groundwater. Now domestic and European Union rules
5……… putting paid to new landfill. The debate about finding alternatives is proving unusually
fraught.
British commentators and politicians suggest the cause is national character. It is very British
6……… citizens to resist bossy officialdom, it is asserted. Tagged bins and rubbish inspections are
“un-British”, clashing with cherished ideas 7……… privacy. Even among Green-tinged folk it is
common to hear British culture blamed. Continental Europe is full of clever plants that burn or
digest waste into heat and power, they grumble. In this country, planning objections 8………
local residents often block 9……… installations for years.
In private ministers admit that surrendering 10……… to local communities—over rubbish
disposal or anything else—is not without risk. Localism may strengthen not just the selfless (eg,
people 11……… want to build a village hall) but also the selfish (who want to stop any new
building 12……… their backyard).
Insert the words in the gaps, whenever they fit:

chemicals environment waste disasters life problems organism

Pollution is the introduction of a contaminant into the ……… . It is created mostly by human
actions, but can also be a result of natural ……… . Pollution has a detrimental effect on any living
……… in an environment, making it virtually impossible to sustain ……… .
Every year in the U.S. factories release over 3 million tons of toxic ……… into the land, air and
water. This hazardous ……… causes us to lose over 15 million acres of land every year, it leads to
respiratory complications and other health ……… and it makes our rivers and lakes too polluted
for us to swim in and drink.

Change the words on the right column so that they make sense in the text:

……… is the process of turning used products into raw cycle

materials that can be used to make new products. Its ……… is utilize
to conserve natural ……… and reduce pollution. Recycling source
reduces energy ………, since it generally takes less energy to consume
recycle a product than to make a new one. ………, recycling similar
causes less pollution than manufacturing a new product, and
conserves raw materials. It also decreases the amount of fill
waste sent to ……… or incinerators. Although people have use
always ……… things, recycling as we know it today emerged as
part of the modern ……… movement. environment

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the phrases in the box:

spend money use space waste electricity save time waste water
save paper

I try to ………………………… by using old envelopes again.

Turn the tap off! You’re ……………… a lot of …………… !
Going by bus is very slow. You’ll ………………………… if you go by car.
Don’t ………………………….. ! Please turn the lights off when you leave.
My living-room is very small but I’m very tidy and I …………… the ……………… very well.
I’m going to …………………. all my birthday ……………………. on some new computer games.

4. Writing – Changing the world (for the project)

Prepare to write your article using the questions below:

 a. What topics will you choose between recycling, using green sources of electricity, or
fighting against industrial pollution?
b. Which are the solutions you propose?
c. What personal opinions and case studies will you include?
d. If you decide to write about recycling, here’s an example of project schema:
Recycling Paper:
 Deposit used paper at your local recycling bank.
 Reduce paper waste by cancelling unwanted deliveries, or read news online as opposed
to buying newspapers.
 Put a ‘no junk mail please’ sign on your letter box to reduce unwanted deliveries.
 Reuse paper around the home as scrap paper or packing material. Envelopes can also be
reused.
 Set your printer to print on both sides of the paper.
 Buy recycled paper whenever possible.
 Case study: The Paper Tree.

5. Translate into English:

Reciclarea pe meleaguri mioritice

http://miscareadereciclare.wordpress.com/despre_noi/

Mişcarea de Reciclare este un program desfăşurat sub patronajul Ministerului Mediului pentru
informarea, conştientizarea şi implicarea în privinţa reciclării DEEE (deşeuri de echipamente
electrice, electronice şi electrocasnice, inclusiv surse de iluminat) şi a deşeurilor reciclabile în
general. Programul s-a desfăşurat într-o primă etapă în 2008 sub numele de “Ziua Verde” când
a cuprins activităţi care au vizat doar reciclarea deşeurilor electrice, electronice şi
electrocasnice, precum şi a surselor de iluminat economice.

Mişcarea de Reciclare presupune derularea de dezbateri publice, evenimente cu publicul şi

acţiuni de informare directe şi prin intermediul media. Programul se va desfăşura pe o perioadă
de 4 luni şi va include activităţi în 12 localităţi din ţară (Galaţi, Sibiu, Iaşi, Cluj, Braşov, Craiova,
Constanţa, Vama Veche, Costineşti, Mamaia, Timişoara şi Bucureşti), printre care concerte
pentru public şi evenimente de stradă. Printre artiştii care vor transmite mesajul Mişcării de
Reciclare se numără Sarmalele Reci, Timpuri Noi, Omul Cu Şobolani, Direcţia 5, Proconsul şi
Bere Gratis.

Activităţile Mişcării de Reciclare vor fi promovate prin intermediul unei campanii de comunicare
derulate la nivel naţional, prin canale TV, radio, print şi on-line. SRTV va găzdui şi o serie de
dezbateri televizate dedicate reciclării şi protecţiei mediului.[…]