Waste not, want not

Disposing of the garbage we produce is a major problem in cities around the world. In the United States, over 160 million tons of garbage are produced every year. Ten percent is recycled, ten percent is burnt, and the rest is put in landfills. But finding lands for new landfills is becoming more difficult.

A city that has solved this problem in unusual way is Machida in Tokyo, Japan. They have developed a totally new approach to garbage disposal. The key to this operation is public cooperation. Families must divide their garbage into six categories:

1 Garbage that can be easily burnt (that is, that is combustible garbage) such as kitchen or garden trash

2 noncombustible garbage, such as small electrical appliances, plastic tools and plastic toys

3products that are poisonous or that cause pollution, such as batteries or fluorescent lights

4 bottles and glass containers that can be recycled

5 metal containers that can be recycled

6 large items such furniture and bicycles

The items in categories1 to 5 are collected on different days. (Large items are only collected upon request). Then the garbage is taken to the center that looks like a clean new office building or hospital. Inside the center special equipment is used to sort and process the garbage. Almost everything can be reused: garden or kitchen trash becomes fertilizer; combustible garbage is burnt to produce electricity; metal containers and bottles are recycled; and old furniture, clothing and other useful items are cleaned, repaired and resold cheaply or given away. The work provides employment for handicapped persons and gives them a chance to learn new skills.

Nowadays, officials from cities around the world visit Machida to see whether they can use some of these ideas and techniques to solve their own garbage disposal problems.

5. Skim through the text and answer the questions:

1. What is the major problem in cities around the world?

2. What percentage of the disposed garbage is put in landfills?

3. How many categories must families divide their garbage into?

4. Which of the garbage categories would these items be placed in?

…..milk packages ……batteries …….perfume bottles

……small electrical appliances …….. bookshelves

5. What happens to these things in the garbage disposal center?

6. How do local officials solve unemployment problem?

6. Read the article again and make notes under the heading, compare your notes with the partners:

Advantages of opening the recycling centre in Machida

1. 2. 3.

7. Find the synonyms for: trash, dispose of, combustible, to recycle ( Mod. 2, Un. 5, task 7).

8. In pairs replace the underlined words with the words used in the text.

1. Electrical kettles and hair dryers ( a--------s) can’t be incinerated (are n--c---------e).

2. Physically disabled people (h---------d) are employed by the recycling center.

3. All the items in the recycling can be used and sold again (r----d and r-----d).

4. Dumping garbage (d------l of t---h) is a pressing problem of big
cities.

5. Municipal authorities (o-------s) from other cities arrive in Machida to borrow the recycling technique.

6. Batteries and fluorescent items are toxic (p-------s) for the environment.

Grammar Focus: Present Perfect

Present perfect simple pattern: have/has + past participle We use present perfect to talk about 1) experiences– things we have done in our lives with the following time expressions: ever, never, once, twice, times: e.g.: Have you ever bought food in biodegradable packages? 2)an action which hasrecently finishedand whoseresult is visible in presentwith the following time expressions: already, yet, always, just recently, lately, up to now, so far e.g.: Scientists have recently developed new recycling technologies. 3)an action which began in the past and continues up to the present; in this case we often use for, sinceand how long – questions. e.g. The residents of industrial areas have faced the problem of pollution for many years.

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Дата добавления: 2015-07-11