環保太給力 瑞典已實現“零垃圾”

別的國家都嫌本國的垃圾太多處理不掉，只有瑞典卻在從他國進口垃圾，因爲本國垃圾太少，不這樣做垃圾回收站只能關門大吉。在瑞典，垃圾焚燒可以轉化成能源，在寒冷的冬天給千家萬戶供暖。

瑞典是如何實現“零垃圾”的呢？這要歸功於本國保護環境的文化傳統和政府的宣傳工作，環保意識深入人心，每家每戶產生的垃圾很少，而且還有先進的垃圾回收供熱系統。

Sweden is so good at recycling that, for several years, it has imported rubbish from other countries to keep its recycling plants going. Less than 1 percent of Swedish household waste was sent to landfill last year or any year since 2011.
這些年瑞典的環保工作做得太出色了，如今甚至要從其他國家進口垃圾，才能讓本國的回收工廠繼續運營下去。去年，瑞典送入垃圾場的生活垃圾不足總量的1%，這種情況一直從2011年持續到現在。

We can only dream of such an effective system in the UK, which is why we end up paying expensive transport costs to send rubbish to be recycled overseas rather than paying fines to send it to landfill under The Landfill Tax of 1996.
如此高效的系統在英國是不可想象的。這就是爲什麼英國人要花費高昂的運輸費，把垃圾送到海外的回收站，因爲如果運到本國的垃圾填埋地的話，依照1996年垃圾填埋稅就要支付罰款。

Why are we sending waste to Sweden? Their system is so far ahead because of a culture of looking after the environment. Sweden was one of the first countries to implement a heavy tax on fossil fuels in 1991 and now sources almost half its electricity from renewables.
爲什麼要把垃圾送到瑞典？因爲瑞典人有保護環境的文化傳統，所以他們的系統很先進。瑞典是1991年第一批開始對化石燃料徵收重稅的國家之一。如今該國近一半的電力供應來自可再生能源。

“Swedish people are quite keen on being out in nature and they are aware of what we need do on nature and environmental issues. We worked on communications for a long time to make people aware not to throw things outdoors so that we can recycle and reuse,” says Anna-Carin Gripwall, director of communications for Avfall Sverige, the Swedish Waste Management’s recycling association.
瑞典垃圾管理回收協會Avfall Sverige的交流主任安娜•凱琳•格里普沃表示，“瑞典人很喜歡擁抱大自然，也知道採取哪些措施來應對環境問題。長期以來，我們都努力和人們進行溝通，好讓他們不在戶外亂扔垃圾，這樣有利於我們對垃圾的回收和再利用。”

Over time, Sweden has implemented a cohesive national recycling policy so that even though private companies undertake most of the business of importing and burning waste, the energy goes into a national heating network to heat homes through the freezing Swedish winter.
在過去的時間裏，瑞典推行了一項連貫的全國性回收政策，這樣一來，儘管私企承擔了大部分垃圾進口和焚燒業務，產生的能源還是能用於國家供暖系統，在瑞典寒冷的冬天裏溫暖千家萬戶。

“That’s a key reason that we have this district network, so we can make use of the heating from the waste plants. In the southern part of Europe they don’t make use of the heating from the waste, it just goes out the chimney. Here we use it as a substitute for fossil fuel,” Ms Gripwall says.
格里普沃女士表示：“這是我們建立這一區域系統的主要原因，這樣我們才能利用垃圾焚燒產生的熱量。歐洲南部的國家不會利用垃圾焚燒來提供熱量，而是任憑熱量從煙囪冒出去，我們則用它來替代化石燃料。”

Sweden’s heating network is not without its detractors. They argue that the country is dodging real recycling by sending waste to be incinerated. Paper plant managers say that wood fibre can be used up to six times before it becomes dust. If Sweden burns paper before that point it is exhausting the potential for true recycling and replacing used paper with fresh raw material.
也有人對瑞典供暖系統提出質疑。他們認爲瑞典焚燒垃圾並不是真正的垃圾回收利用。造紙商表示，在燒燬前，木材纖維還可以循環利用六次。真正的回收是把用過的紙轉變爲新的原料，如果瑞典在還未充分循環利用前就燒燬紙張，它正在耗盡真正的回收的潛力。

Ms Gripwall says the aim in Sweden is still to stop people sending waste to recycling in the first place. A national campaign called the “Miljönär-vänlig” movement has for several years promoted the notion that there is much to be gained through repairing, sharing and reusing.
格里普沃表示，瑞典的目標仍然是阻止人們第一時間就把垃圾送去回收站。瑞典有一項持續了好幾年的全國性宣傳運動Miljönär-vänlig，該運動宣揚修補、分享和重複利用可以讓人們獲益多多。

She describes Sweden’s policy of importing waste to recycle from other countries as a temporary situation. “There’s a ban on landfill in EU countries, so instead of paying the fine they send it to us as a service. They should and will build their own plants, to reduce their own waste, as we are working hard to do in Sweden,” Ms Gripwall says.
她表示瑞典從其他國家進口垃圾來回收只是暫時的。格里普沃說：“歐盟禁止成員國填埋垃圾，所以這些國家爲了不支付罰款就把垃圾作爲一項服務送到我們國家來。他們應該也將會建造自己的回收工廠，減少本國垃圾，就像我們在瑞典努力推行的一樣。”

“Hopefully there will be less waste and the waste that has to go to incineration should be incinerated in each country. But to use recycling for heating you have to have district heating or cooling systems, so you have to build the infrastructure for that, and that takes time,” she adds.
她補充道：“希望以後的垃圾會減少，需要焚燒的垃圾能在各國國內焚燬。不過如果想回收垃圾用來供熱的話，需要區域供熱和冷卻系統，所以必須修建相應的基礎設施，而修建時間會比較長。”

Swedish municipalities are individually investing in futuristic waste collection techniques, like automated vacuum systems in residential blocks, removing the need for collection transport, and underground container systems that free up road space and get rid of any smells.
瑞典自治區都在各自發展未來主義的垃圾收集技術，比如居民區的自動真空系統免去了垃圾收運，還有地下裝載系統，可以避免佔用街道和各種氣味。