Single-use plastic bags, a staple¹ of American life, have got to go, the United Nations' top environmental official said Monday.

Although recycling bags is on the rise in the United States , an estimated 90 billion thin bags a year, most used to handle produce and groceries, go unrecycled. They were the second most common form of litter after cigarette butts² at the 2008 International Coastal³ Cleanup Day sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy, a marine⁴ environmental group.

"Single use plastic bags which choke marine life, should be banned or phased out rapidly everywhere. There is simply zero justification⁵ for manufacturing them anymore, anywhere," said Achim Steiner , executive director of the UN Environment Programme. His office advises UN member states on environmental policies.

Steiner's declaration accompanied a UNEP report that identifies plastic as the most pervasive⁶ form of ocean litter. According to the report, " Plastic , the most prevalent component⁷ of marine debris⁸, poses hazards because it persists so long in the ocean, degrading into tinier and tinier bits that can be consumed by the smallest marine life at the base of the food web."

Ireland managed to cut single-use plastic bag consumption 90 percent by levying⁹ a fee on each bag that consumers use.

In the United States , only San Francisco has completely banned plastic bags. Los Angeles will do so in 2010. Also, Washington, D.C.'s city council is set to vote on a five-cent -a-bag tax later this month. On first reading, the bill passed unanimously. Similar proposals have failed in New York and Philadelphia .

Keith Christman , senior director for the plastics division of the American Chemistry Council , responded that the term "single-use" is misleading because most people actually reuse plastic bags, "for example, to line their trash cans."

"A ban on plastic bags could also cause some unintended consequences," he said. In particular, the increased demand for paper bags would double greenhouse emissions¹⁰ and create "a dramatic increase in waste," Christman said.

Leading U.S. plastic bag manufacturers aim to increase the recycled content of plastic bags to 40 percent by 2015, he added. That would reduce plastic waste by 300 million pounds a year.

"Recycling is what we see as the best approach for the US," Christman said. " Plastic is just too valuable to waste."

一次性塑料袋是美国人的日常生活用品。联合国环境部门的高级官员于本周一称，应禁止使用塑料袋。

尽管越来越多的美国人开始使用环保袋，但据估计，每年人们使用的900亿个超薄塑料袋并没有被循环利用，大部分塑料袋用来装商品和杂货。在海洋环境组织“海洋保护协会”主办的“2008年国际海滩清洁日”活动上，塑料袋被列为第二大常见垃圾，仅次于烟蒂。

联合国环境规划署执行主任阿齐姆•施泰纳说：“一次性塑料袋会导致海洋生物窒息，人们应尽快在全球禁止使用或逐步淘汰它。不管在什么地方，都没有任何理由再继续生产一次性塑料袋度。”他所在的部门建议联合国会员国家实施环保政策。

与施泰纳的声明同时出炉的还有一份联合国环境规划署的报告，该报告将塑料列为最常见的海洋垃圾。该报告指出，“塑料在海洋垃圾中最常见，由于它能在海洋里停留很久，分解成小片直至碎片，甚至处于食物网底层的最小的海洋生物都能吸收，因此构成很大威胁。”

自从爱尔兰对消费者使用的每个塑料袋收费后，该国塑料袋的使用量减少了90%。

在美国，仅有旧金山完全禁用塑料袋。洛杉矶在2010年也将效法。华盛顿特区市议会将于下半月投票决定是否对每个塑料袋征收五美分的税。该法案在初审时全票通过。类似的提案在纽约和费城遭到否决。

美国化学理事会塑料分部的高级主管基思• 回应称，人们误解了“一次性”的含义，因为大部分人其实会多次使用塑料袋，“比如，垫垃圾桶。”

他说：“禁用塑料袋也会招致一些意外的影响。”特别是纸袋需求的大幅上升会使温室气体排出量加倍，并导致“浪费骤然加剧。”

他补充称，美国主要的塑料袋生产商打算在2015年之前将塑料袋可循环利用的成分增至40%。这可以每年减少3亿磅的塑料浪费。

他说：“对美国来说，重复利用塑料是最好的办法。它价值很大，我们不能浪费。”

 Vocabulary:

single-use: 一次性使用的

line：to cover the inner side or surface of（加衬里，垫在里面）