小譯說
一直以來，人們都在稱讚可重複使用袋子的環保效果，理論上如此，實際上又如何呢？這樣的袋子我們應該怎麼用才算是真正的環保呢？
Although more environmentally friendly than traditional single-use plastic bags, reusable bags, depending on what they are made out of, are more energy-intensive to produce, distribute, and recycle.
雖然環保袋比傳統的一次性塑膠袋更環保，但可重複使用的袋子在生產、銷售和循環利用方面更加耗電。
To be clear, plastic bags are rightly thought of as a menace that’s hazardous to human health. According to the National Resources Defense Council, over a decade ago, the average American family took home almost 1,500 plastic shopping bags a year, clogging our cabinets, kitchen drawers, and landfills.
需要明確的一點是，塑膠袋的確是一種對人類健康有害的威脅。根據美國國家資源保護委員會(National Resources Defense Counci)的數據，十多年前，美國家庭平均每年要用掉近1500個塑料購物袋，這些塑膠袋塞滿了櫥櫃、廚房抽屜和垃圾填埋場。
Today the numbers are slightly better: According to National Geographic, as of 2018, shoppers in the United States use almost one plastic bag per resident per day. (Compare that to the fact that shoppers in Denmark use an average of four plastic bags a year.)
如今，這一數字略有下降。根據《國家地理》雜誌(NationalGeographic)的數據，截至2018年 ,美國購物者平均每人每天使用一個塑膠袋。（相比之下，丹麥購物者平均每年使用四個塑膠袋。）
This is a story on whether the reusable bag can justify its existence.
這事關可重複使用袋子的生死存亡。
According to a report by the United Nations Environment Program, 「depending on their composition, reusable bags might have to be deconstructed in a costly recycling process to separate the different materials.
根據聯合國環境規劃署(United Nations Environment Program)的一份報告，「根據可重複使用袋子的成分不同，它們需要在拆解回收過程中將不同的材料分離，所以可能成本更加高昂。」
Consequently, in many cases, reusable bags are not recycled.」 That means despite the best intentions, millions of reusable bags designed to replace the need for conventional plastic shopping bags, will also end up in landfills.
因此在許多情況下，可重複使用的袋子是不進入回收流程的。這意味著，儘管出發點是好的，數以百萬計的可重複使用袋子將如願取代傳統的塑料購物袋，最終卻也將被扔進垃圾填埋場。
Another point to consider, not all reusable bags are equal in terms of their recyclability.
另一點要考慮的是，並非所有的環保袋在可循環再造性方面都是一樣的。
There are a wide range of reusable bag options on the market, from the popular Baggu bags that fold up to the size of a handkerchief, to the thicker plastic totes often made from recycled water bottles, constructed to have a longer life.
市場上有各種各樣的可重複使用的袋子可供選擇，從廣受歡迎的可摺疊迷你袋子，到回收水瓶製成的厚塑膠袋，它們的構造使其使用壽命更長。
Generally speaking, reusable bags tend to be made of more than one material to give the bag added reinforcement and added street appeal. On a life cycle basis, stronger, heavier bags—no matter what material they are made from, although cotton is the worst culprit—will have a more substantial environmental impact. That’s because heavier bags use more resources to create as well as distribute.
一般而言，可重複使用的袋子往往由多種材料製成，以增加袋的堅固性和設計感。在使用壽命的基礎上，更結實、更重的袋子——不管它們是由什麼材料製成的，都會對環境產生更實質性的影響，連棉花也不能免俗。這是因為較重的袋子在製造和銷售的過程中消耗的資源都更多。
Although reusable bags are still the lesser of evils, here are three things you need to consider before you grab that tote.
雖然環保袋的危害較小，但在你拿起環保袋之前，有三件事你還是需要考慮的。
Too much of a good thing?
東西雖好，濫用怎行？
Part of the problem with tote bags is that they are irresistible and insidious in equal measure. Just like plastic bags, reusable bags multiply, but unlike plastic bags, there is no formal recycling designation for tote bags.
可重複使用袋子的一大問題在於，它們不可抗拒，又暗藏狡猾。跟塑膠袋一樣，可重複使用的袋子使用量日益增加，但與塑膠袋不同的是，它們沒有正式的回收標識。
Used for promotional purposes and marketing of all kinds, tote bags』 swelling popularity, according to the Atlantic, means bags that have been used very little (or not at all) can be found piled on curbs, tossed in trashcans in city parks, in dumpsters, and basically everywhere. Ubiquity breeds contempt—consumers have come to see them as disposable, defeating their very purpose.
據《大西洋月刊》(the Atantic)報導，可重複使用的袋子被用於促銷和各種營銷，它們愈發流行，這就意味著有些袋子沒用過幾次（或根本沒用過）就被堆在路邊、扔在城市公園的垃圾桶裡，基本隨處可見。它們實在太不稀奇了，人們根本不把它們當回事——消費者開始將它們視為一次性產品，違背了它們的初衷。
Tote tip: One way to chip away at your bag of bags is to donate them. Use them to bring clothing donations to shelters, houses of worship or Goodwill, and leave them as part of the donation or take fabric ones to a textile recycling drop off location.
可重複使用袋子小貼士：捐贈是減少可重複使用袋子的一種方法。用它們把捐贈的衣物帶到避難所、教堂或慈善機構，作為捐贈衣物的一部分，或者把織物袋子送到紡織品回收處。
Put the use in re-use
重複使用
To legitimize the extra effort and energy consumption that producing tote bags requires, consumers need to use their reusable bags—a lot. One study out of the United Kingdom found that you』d have to reuse a cotton tote 327 times to achieve the same carbon-usage ratio as using a paper bag seven times, or plastic bag used twice.
為了讓生產可重複使用袋子所需的額外能源和勞動力合法化，消費者們需要將它們重複使用——重複使用很多次。一個英國的研究發現，為了達到相同的炭利用率，一個棉質袋子要使用327次，一個紙袋要使用7次，而一個塑膠袋只要使用兩次。
As strange as it sounds, plastic bags have the lightest per-use impact of the various bags the study examined. Cotton totes, on the other hand, in terms of production and distribution, actually have according to the Atlantic, 「the highest and most severe global-warming potential by far.」
聽起來很奇怪，在研究調查的各種袋子中，塑膠袋的每次使用影響最小。另一方面，根據《大西洋月刊》的報導，就生產和銷售而言，棉質袋子實際上是「迄今為止全球變暖最大、最嚴重的潛在因素」。
Tote tip:Whatever type of bag is used, the key to reducing its environmental impact is to reuse it as many times as possible. If you leave your reusable bag in your car the next time you’re at the grocery store, go back and get it.
可重複使用袋子小貼士：無論使用何種類型的袋子，減少其對環境影響的關鍵就是要儘可能多次地重複使用。如果你下次去商店的時候把袋子忘在了車裡，那就回去取。
Beware of bacteria magnets
小心細菌滋生
Sad but true—your tote bags, if you have been using them diligently, are probably filthy. Especially when totes are used for groceries, the bags can be breeding grounds for food-borne bacteria.
這是個悲傷但真實的情況——如果你一直在用你的手提袋，它們可能真的很髒。特別是用來買雜貨的袋子很可能成為食源性細菌的滋生地。
If the bags are used to carry meat, fish or fruits and vegetables, chances of bacterial contamination are especially high. According to the Cleveland Clinic, cross-contamination can occur when meat, produce, and pre-cooked foods are placed in the same bag.
如果是用來裝肉、魚、水果和蔬菜的袋子，細菌汙染的機率尤其高。根據克利夫蘭診所的調查，肉類，農產品，和預煮食物共用一個袋子時就有可能發生交叉汙染。
Research out of the University of Arizona found that half the bags they sampled had coliform bacteria including E. coli. Worse, of those interviewed, 97 percent admitted they had never washed their reusable bags.
亞利桑那大學的研究發現，他們取樣的塑膠袋中有一半含有大腸型細菌，包括大腸桿菌。更糟糕的是，在受訪者中，97%的人承認他們從未洗過可重複使用袋子。
Tote tip:Wash your bags regularly, either weekly or after each trip to the store, to kill all the accumulated bacteria. To take it one step further, you could designate particular reusable bags for meat and for produce.
可重複使用袋子小貼士：袋子要定期清洗殺菌，可以是每周洗一次， 也可以是每次購物後洗一次。更進一步地，你可以為肉類和農產品選擇固定的可重複使用袋子。
And where you keep your bags matters. Especially in summer, storing your bags in the trunk of a hot car creates an optimal bacteria friendly environment, encouraging bacteria to multiply. Try storing them in a hallway or closet instead.
袋子收納在哪裡也很重要，尤其是在夏天，把袋子放在炎熱的汽車後備箱裡無疑給細菌繁殖創造了最佳的環境。試著把它們放在走廊或壁櫥裡吧。
In the end, the best practice for reusable bags is to have no half measures: Either use them all the time or don’t use them at all. Using a reusable bag once or twice, and then throwing it away, doesn’t do the environment any favors.
最後，對於可重複使用的袋子，最好的做法是不要半途而廢：要麼一直用下去，要麼乾脆就別用。畢竟只用一兩次就把袋子扔掉的話，可是對環境沒有任何好處的。
讀完這篇文章，大家對可重複使用袋子的認識是不是有了刷新呢？為了發揮它應有的環保作用，每一個可重複使用袋子都應該被儘可能多次使用哦。
本文為百度翻譯原創內容
翻譯：吳子瓊 （北語）
編輯：Caitlyn
文章來源：RD