With countries shutting their doors to foreign recyclable waste and a lack of processing capacity in Western countries, is the recycling system broken? Neil and Georgina talk about the excessive reliance on recycling rather than reducing the use of plastics and teach you related vocabulary along the way.

This weeks question
On average, how many kilograms of household waste were generated per person in the UK last year? Was it:
a) 280 kg
b) 480 kg
c) 680 kg
Listen to the programme to find out the answer.

Vocabulary
scrap
unwanted waste material; rubbish

public at large
most people (in the world), rather than just some of them

raise consciousness
develop awareness of an unfair situation, with the aim of making people want to help in changing it

virgin plastic
original, unused plastic containers before anything else is done to it– made directly from crude oil or natural gas

slogan
short, easily remembered phrase, often used to advertise an idea or product

emphasised
highlighted as being especially important; drawn attention to

You can download the audio and a transcript from our website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-200528

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