The Garbage Project

Most archaeologists study buried housed, broken objects, and old garbage to learn important things about ancient societies. At the University of Arizona in the United States, however, archaeology students are investigating today’s garbage. They hope to learn important things about modern society by studying its garbage. The Garbage Project started at the University of Arizona in 1973. Since then, students have studied garbage in cities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
大部分的考古學家研究埋沒的房屋，破碎的物件，及老舊的廢棄物來了解古代社會重要的事情。然而，美國亞利桑那州大學的考古學學生研究的是近期的廢棄物。他們藉著研究廢棄物是希望能了解現代社會。廢棄物企劃案在1973年成立於美國亞利桑那州大學。自此學生開始研究位於美國，加拿大，墨西哥的城市廢棄物。

To study the modern world’s garbage, students had to travel to landfills, the places where cities bury their garbage. While the students were studying the garbage, they wore special clothes and used safety equipment. Students were also very careful when they opened bags of garbage. What have students in the Garbage Project learned from studying modern garbage? One important thing they learned is that the garbage in landfills disappears very slowly. That was surprising to the students, as well as to many scientists who had predicted that roughly 70% of the garbage in landfills would disappear naturally and quickly. Even in cities where it rains a lot, the students found newspapers from 1948, forty-year-old hot dogs, and lettuce from 1970.
為研究現代世界的廢棄物，學生必須前往垃圾掩埋場，垃圾掩埋場是城市埋葬垃圾的地方。當學生在研究廢棄物時，他們要穿特殊的衣服，並使用安全的裝備。學生也很小心的打開垃圾袋。參與廢棄物企劃案的學生學到了什麼呢？他們學到了一件重要的事是垃圾掩埋場裡的廢棄物消矢的非常慢,學生們及許多科學家都非常驚訝,他們都預測大約70％在垃圾掩埋場裡的廢棄物會自然且快速的消失。甚至在降雨量很大的城市，學生們找到1948年的報紙，40歲的熱狗及1970年的萵苣。

The Garbage Project also revealed that what people say they do is often very different from what they actually do. The archaeology students asked people what they bought, ate, and drank, and then they compared this to what people threw away. For some reason, the two didn't match. For example, the students found many more empty bottles of alcohol than people said they drank.
廢棄物企劃案也顯現，人們說會做的事情與實際做到的通常有極大的差異。考古學學生拿人們所買的、吃的和喝的物品跟實際丟掉的做比較。但不知道為何無法畫上等號。例如，學生們發現含酒精的空瓶子，人們說的比實際喝的還要多。

Information from the Garbage Project has also helped us to see how much garbage we actually put in landfills. The students are hopeful that this will encourage us to find better ways to dispose of our garbage. Of course, the best way to dispose of garbage depends on what kind of garbage it is: regular garbage, hazardous materials, or recyclables, such as newspapers, glass bottles, and some metals. Regular garbage goes to regular landfills. Hazardous materials, on the other hand, contain poisonous chemicals or metals. They shouldn't go into regular landfills.
從「廢棄物企劃」的資料裡，讓我們[也了解到底有多少的垃圾丟在掩埋場裡。學生們是希望這些研究，可鼓勵我們去尋找更好的方法處理我們的垃圾。當然，最好的處理垃圾方法取決於它是什麼種類的垃圾:一般垃圾，有害物質，或是可回收物品，例如報紙，玻璃瓶，和一些金屬製品。一般垃圾會掩埋在一般的掩埋場裡。另一方面，危險物品，包含有毒化學藥品和金屬。此類物品不能丟在一般的掩埋場裡。

Ordinary houses are full of hazardous waste. The most problematic hazardous waste in homes is batteries. When batteries end up in a landfill, they often break open. The poison inside them moves through rain water and other liquids to the bottom of the landfill. Then it can pollute the natural water in the ground. People could avoid this problem by using rechargeable batteries.
普通家庭充滿了有毒的垃圾,在家中最有問題的有毒廢棄物就是電池了。當電池用完埋在掩埋場裡時，它們時常會裂開。裡面的有毒物藉由雨水和其他液體流入掩埋場的底部。那些有毒物會汙染地下的自然水。為了避免這類問題，人們可以使用可充式電池。

Another hazardous waste from homes is motor oil. When people pour old motor oil on the ground or throw it in the garbage, it poisons the environment. They should recycle old motor oil instead.
另一個家中有毒的垃圾是機油, 當人們傾倒舊機油在地上或是丟棄於垃圾裡時，機油就會毒害環境。他們應該回收舊機油來取代。

Unfortunately, recycling is expensive. It takes time, equipment, and special treatment. Toronto began the first recycling program in North America in 1982. The city started by recycling newspapers, and later it added glass and cans to its recycling program. When students from the Garbage Project studied the Toronto landfills, they found that recycling was having a positive effect. Since 1982, Toronto has reduces the amount of garbage going into its landfills by 25%.
不幸地是，資源回收是昂貴的，它需花費時間、設備和特別的處理。1982年多倫多市首先在北美開始實施回收計畫。這城市一開始是先回收報紙，後期的回收計畫增加到回收坡璃和罐頭。當「廢棄物計劃」的學生研究多倫多市的垃圾掩埋場時，他們發現回收有正面的效應。自1982年開始，多倫多市已減少25％的垃圾數量丟至垃圾掩埋場裡。

A health official once said, "We're in deep trouble here. We have too much garbage, our landfills are closing, and we can't open new ones because people don't want them. If we don't do something about our garbage, we're going to be buried in it.” The health official made that statement in 1889! Clearly, our garbage problem is not new, but as the world's population continues to grow, it will become a bigger and bigger problem.
一位衛生局官員曾說：「我們在這正有大麻煩。」我們有太多的垃圾，垃圾掩埋場卻要關閉了，因為人民的反對我們卻不能開闢新的掩埋場。假如我們再不對垃圾採取措施方案，我們將會被垃圾掩埋。衛生局官員在1889年發表以上聲明！無疑地，垃圾問題對我們來說早已不新，但隨著世界人口繼續增加，這個問題就會越滾越大。