什麼是塑膠微粒
- These are microbeads. They’re little pieces of plastics smaller than a grain of sand and they’re everywhere.
這些「塑膠微粒」，是比細砂還來得小，由塑膠製成的小粒子。而且它們無所不在！
- You might be switching them around in your mouth，or rubbing them in your face, yuck!
你可能一早就讓這些塑膠在嘴裡東跑西竄，或是把它們塗得滿臉都是，噁心啊！
- Microbeads are in a lot of stuff. But they show up most in personal health care products,
face soap and body wash, toothpaste, you could be evenly fill in the smile lines with the plastics in age-defying makeup.
許多產品含有塑膠微粒，但集其大宗的，是個人清潔用品：洗面乳、沐浴乳，牙膏裡也可能有，甚至連防皺乳霜裏都充滿著這些塑膠微粒！
塑膠微粒的問題
- Companies put them in these products as exfoliants or just for texture, but there’s no proof they even help! And you may not realize that you’re using them, unless you know where to look for.
相關企業把塑膠微粒當作去角質或增加質感的成分，但根本無法證明它們真的有用！而且妳可能根本不知道自己正在使用塑膠微粒，除非你知道要如何看標示！
- But the biggest problem with microbeads, is their design to go down the drains. They’re so small, most water treatment plants can’t capture them.
然而塑膠微粒最糟糕的是，它們小到可直接通過排水管，連污水處理設備都攔不下它們。
- So billions are entering our water ways every day. And even worse, these tiny beads of plastics act like sponges absorbing up the toxics around them.
就這樣，數十億個塑膠微粒就這樣每天進入我們的水體。更恐怖的是，這些塑膠微粒就像海綿一樣，會把周遭水體中的毒性物質吸得飽飽的。
- So a single microbead can end up being a million times more toxic than the water around it.
所以光一顆塑膠微粒，最終其毒性可能會比周遭水體的毒性大上百萬倍。
- Once in the waterways, they get eaten by the fish and other animals, and could make their way right back to you in your sushi. How’s that for the “circle of life”?
而一旦跑到水體中，它們會被魚類與其他動物吞食；而下一站，也許就擺在你面前的壽司盤上。這樣的 「生命循環」好嗎？
業者使用塑膠微粒的原因
- So why do companies put these microbeads in their products to begin with? Well, for one, plastics’ cheaper than the natural exfoliants we used to use, plus it’s an excuse to sell more stuff!
這些企業究竟為何要把塑膠微粒加到產品中呢？第一，塑膠微粒比天然去角質的產品便宜得多了；第二，這是他們可以賣更多東西的藉口：
- Those natural exfoliants worked so well, you could only use them once a week. Microbeads are smooth enough to use everyday.Which means you run out quicker, and have to buy more of that product.
天然去角質產品的效用非常好，所以你一週只要使用一次就夠了；然而塑膠「柔珠」光滑到可以天天使用。這表示你會更快用完，然後購買更多這類產品。
- Sure, we can try to avoid products with microbeads. But isn’t it a bigger problem of companies put on the shelf in the first place?
當然，我們可以儘量避免購買這類產品，但更該負責的，難道不是將產品上架的業者嗎？
請採取行動 一起杜絕塑膠微粒
- The good news is, some companies have already removed the plastic microbeads in their products, and many places are considering outright bans. No matter where you live, there are ways to take action.
好消息是，有些業者的產品已經不用塑膠微粒了，也有許多地方打算全面禁止塑膠微粒的使用。不管你住在哪裡，總會有行動的方法。
- Come on! We don’t need the beads. Let’s get them out of our stuff, Out of our waterways, and out of our bodies.
Come on！1我們不需要塑膠微粒！讓我們把塑膠微粒趕出生活用品，趕出我們的河川海洋，趕出我們的身體！
- 此處的「Come on」，一方面是召喚民眾，一起採取行動來杜絕塑膠微粒，另一方面是呼籲業者，拜託他們不要使用塑膠微粒。由於一語雙關，故保留原文不譯。