We're now used to wearing masks in public. It's reported that about 300 million masks are used and then thrown away every day in China. Where do these used masks go? You might think that they just go in a dustbin (垃圾箱). But that's just the first stop on them asks' journey.
After the masks are thrown into bins, dust carts empty the bins and take the rubbish to landfills(垃圾场). There the masks will be burned. Burning masks might not seem to be very good for the environment. Won't it cause pollution?
The answer is "no", according to People's Daily. That's because most masks are made of non-woven fabrics , whose main material (材料) is polypropylene, an environmentally-friendly material. It's non-toxic (无毒的)and can break down easily. After burning, it turns into water and carbon dioxide. As long as landfills deal with these emissions (排放物)correctly, burning the masks won't cause pollution.
In fact, burning the masks has some advantages. The process of burning rubbish can create electricity. Burning one ton of rubbish means more than 400kilowatt hours of electricity. It's said that there will be 162, 000 tons of used masks in total in China this year. Burning all of them can create 64 million kilowatt hours of electricity. That is enough to allow an electric car to drive 370 million km.
What's more, the waste from burning masks can be recycled to make bricks or fill roadbeds.
a. It can make electricity.
b. It can help us save water.
c. It reduces carbon dioxide emissions.
d. The waste can be used to fill roadbeds.
