Plastic bag

Beaches can look beautiful from far away, but when you go closer, maybe you will find trash.

You might see bottles, fishing nets, plastic bags, and more.

台湾的海滩很美, 但近看却可能会发现海滩上垃圾很多。 Or maybe you will not find trash.

Taiwan has about 10,000 beach cleanups every year.

But these groups say you do not have to go to a beach to help.

You can find ways to help in your daily life.

How? You can try not to use plastic bags.

You can be careful not to throw trash on the ground.

Fishing with that long pole? You caught this? This bag, yes, sir.

This big plastic bag.

All my years here, I never hooked in anything like this.

I pulled at it, got a hook, pulled it in.

Where'd you get this wire here, standing here in the hall?

I had to get this wire, some of this wire, to pull the bag in from the river.

That plastic bag was heavy.

You didn't tell us that before.

The word for plastic bag is poribukuro.

Poribukuro.

Polybag.

And again, we use wakudasai.

Poribukuro wakudasai.

Exactly.

So with all this context, how do you think a ban on plastic bag bans will resonate with listeners?

I think it'll provoke thought and perhaps inspire dialogue.

But it might also elicit mixed reactions, especially if listeners feel disconnected.

I never do.

Um, I love plastic bags.

[laughs]

What?

I love plastic bags.

What does that even mean?

What?

... yeah, like, in the grocery store or CVS or something, you go, and you have a plastic bag.