1 . Catch your reusable bag and kiss your plastic bags goodbye. Plastic waste is on its way out, thanks to these governmental bans from around the world.

From Indiana to Maine, governments at all levels in the US are forcing bans and improving recycling. People are shopping smarter and companies are doing better to ensure the protection of our environment. Slowly but surely, the world is entering a brighter future as more and more countries follow. But there’s still a lot of work to be done—or undone.

Since the 1950s, researchers say that about more than 8.3 billion tons of plastic has been produced. And 60% of that waste has ended up in the environment. That number has increased quickly over the years. For example, it was recorded that the world’s plastic production doubled from 1976 (50 million tons) to 1989 (100 million tons). It was highest at 368 million in 2019 before decreasing to 367 million in 2020.

A million tons decrease of plastic production is not enough to deal with the rising pressures plastic puts into the environment. We still do not know how long it takes for plastic to breakdown. It means that about 12 million tons of plastic waste that entered the ocean in 2010 is still breaking into micro plastics and filling up the stomachs of birds and sea animals. The plastic going into our environment is not going away. While recent studies of plastic-eating enzymes and bacteria offer some hope for the future of plastic waste management, the best way to deal with our environmental stress is through decrease.

In 2020, New York City began to ban plastic bags. But this wasn’t the first plastic bag ban in a US state. In fact, the US wasn’t even the first country to introduce this idea. Back in 2002, Bangladesh became the first country to implement a plastic bag ban. Since then, other countries have followed, introducing their own ways to fight with the continuing plastic bags.

1. What do we know about plastic waste?

A．We have completely cleaned it up	B．It is hardly increasing all over the world.
C．We have done nothing to deal with it.	D．There is a long way to solve the problem of it.

2. How much plastic waste has been put into the environment since the 1950s?

A．More than 8.3 billion tons.	B．About 5 billion tons.
C．About 100 million tons.	D．Less than 368 million tons.

3. What can be inferred about dealing with plastic?

A．It doesn’t take long to breakdown it	B．Sea animals can be eating most of it.
C．Some enzymes and bacteria help a lot.	D．Cutting plastic waste down is still the best way.

4. What does the underlined word “implement” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Carry out.

B．Keep up.

C．Look at.

D．Take away.