Online Class Notes (Vicki) [R]

The potato chip maker Pringles has improved its packaging. Pringles is well known for its large, round, stacked crisps as well as for its cylindrical container. However, the container has been criticised for being bad for the environment. A lot of the criticism was because the tube was almost impossible to recycle. The BBC news agency said the container was “a recycler’s nightmare”. It might have looked simple but it was made up of multiple materials. It had a plastic cap, a metal base, an aluminium tear-off cover and a foil-lined cardboard tube. This all made it nearly impossible for people to separate and recycle the container. The Recycling Association called it one of the “villains” of the recycling world.

Chiefs at Pringles went back to the drawing board to make the packaging easier to recycle. They spent 12 months designing a new tube. This move was part of the company’s promise to switch to 100 per cent reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by the year 2025. A company spokesman said: “We are eager to play our part and reduce our impact on the planet. And Pringles fans expect that of us too. So we’ve worked hard to come up with this new can, which is widely recyclable and keeps our chips fresh and tasty and protects them from breaking up – which helps to reduce food waste.” However, the new design still has a plastic lid. The Recycling Association said this would just add to plastic pollution.

Vocabulary

cylindrical (adj.)- 圆柱形的
i.e. This cup is cylindrical.

aluminium (n.)- 铝
i.e. This is made of aluminium.

tear-off (adj.)- sth that can be separated 可撕下的
i.e. This sticker is a tear-off sticker.

foil (n.)- 锡
i.e. We use foil paper in the oven.

foil-lined (adj.)- the edge is made of foil 锡边
i.e. This paper is foil-lined

sticker (n.) – 贴纸
i.e. I like the red sticker.

villain (n.)- bad guy 坏人
i.e. The wolf is the villain in the story.

package (n.) = packaging (n.) – cover of the food 外包装
i.e. The package of the potato chips is brown.
i.e. The packaging of the potato chips is brown.

stacked (adj.) – one on top of the other 重叠的
i.e. All of our name tags are stacked.
i.e. All of the plates are stacked in the cupboard.

crisp (n.)- chips
i.e. I like to eat salty crisps.

crispy (adj.) – 脆的
i.e. I like to eat crispy cookies.

criticize  (v.) – to say bad things about sth. 批评
i.e. I don’t want to criticize your homework.

criticism (n.) – 批评 the negative comments
i.e. I don’t like to receive criticism.

compostable (adj.) – able to be made into other things 可制作的
i.e. This nail is compostable for anything you want to make.

nail (n.) – 钉子
i.e A nail is a tool we use to build things.

build (v.)- to make
i.e. My son likes to build robots.

throw away – 扔

policy (n.)- rule 规定
i.e. We have the policy to avoid food waste.

waste sorting – 垃圾分类
i.e. Shanghai has a policy about waste sorting.