Paying for bus rides with plastic usually makes people think of plastic bus cards.But one Indonesian city has decided to accept plastic recyclable waste in place of money for city buses.
Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city, located on the eastern end of the country′s main island Java, made this decision in April 2018.Now,locals can pay for their bus rides by putting plastic cups or bottles directly on the bus.A two﹣hour bus ride costs 10 plastic cups or 5 bottles.
Indonesia is the second largest ocean plastic polluter, producing up to 2.4 million tons of plastic waste into the oceans every year according to a report.Only in Surabaya nearly 400 tons of plastic waste is produced every day.The head of Surabaya's transportation department(交通部门) said,"With this decision, we hope to raise public awareness about environment, especially people's awareness about plastic waste."
Each city bus can collect up to 550 pounds of plastic bottles and cups every day.The collected bottles are sold to recycling companies and the money earned from it goes toward running the bus companies and providing money for green spaces in the city.This is certainly turning rubbish into a national treasure.
The decision is part of the city's purpose to become plastic waste﹣free by 2020.In order to encourage local people to take buses,the city also added the new Suroboyo buses.The new buses are air﹣conditioned,comfortable and easy for elderly and disabled passengers to get on and off.
The program is well received.People in Surabaya said,"We can reduce waste so it doesn't pile up at home because we can just bring it in and make good use of it. It is a win﹣win situation."
This type of program can be a model for other cities worldwide and encourage citizens to recycle their plastic waste.
回答下面5个问题,每题答案不超过六个词.
(1)Instead of money, how can locals in Surabaya pay for bus rides now?
(2)How much plastic waste does a two﹣hour bus ride cost?
(3)How much plastic waste is produced in Surabaya every day?
(4)What is the purpose of the new program?
(5)What do local people think of the new program?