EigoPro 準1級読解 — The Recycling Myth

For decades, the recycling symbol stamped on a plastic bottle has functioned as a kind of moral reassurance, a quiet promise that the object in our hand will be reborn rather than buried. The numbers tell a less comforting story. Of all the plastic ever produced, less than ten per cent has been recycled; the overwhelming remainder has been incinerated, dumped in landfill, or scattered across oceans and roadsides. Recycling, it turns out, has never been the solution we were encouraged to believe it was. The reasons are partly technical. Unlike glass or aluminium, which can be melted and reformed almost indefinitely, plastic degrades each time it is reprocessed, so a bottle rarely becomes another bottle; it becomes a lower-grade product destined, sooner or later, for the rubbish heap. Worse, the bewildering variety of plastics—dozens of incompatible resins, often fused together in a single package—makes sorting them prohibitively expensive. For most municipalities, manufacturing new plastic from cheap oil is simply cheaper than salvaging the old. Yet the deeper failure is one of misdirection. Industry documents unearthed by journalists reveal that plastic producers promoted recycling for years while privately doubting it could ever work at scale. The strategy was shrewd: by persuading the public that waste was a problem of individual responsibility—of diligent rinsing and correct sorting—manufacturers deflected pressure to curb production at its source. The blame, in effect, was outsourced to the consumer. None of this means recycling is worthless; for some materials it remains genuinely valuable. But treating it as a licence to keep producing plastic without limit is a delusion we can no longer afford. The honest conclusion is uncomfortable: the only reliable way to deal with plastic waste is to generate far less of it in the first place.

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この単元の問題を3問、解説つきで公開しています

準1級 · 読解 · 全5問

問 1

What is the main idea of the passage?

Consumers who rinse and sort their waste carefully can solve the plastic crisis.
Recycling glass and aluminium is more profitable than dumping them in landfill.
Plastic producers should be legally required to fund municipal recycling programmes.
Plastic recycling has largely failed, and the real solution is to produce far less plastic.

Phrase

the only reliable way to deal with plastic waste is to generate far less of it in the first place

準1級読解環境論説主旨把握

⚡ひとことで

本文全体は「プラスチックのリサイクルはほぼ失敗、真の解決は生産量を減らすこと」という論旨。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Plastic recycling has largely failed, and the real solution is to produce far less plastic.」

正解

本文は (1) リサイクル率10%未満という事実→ (2) 技術的・経済的な失敗の原因→ (3) 業界による責任転嫁→ (4) 「生産量を最初から減らすしかない」という結論、という構成。最終段の The honest conclusion ... is to generate far less of it in the first place が論旨を端的に示す。よって「リサイクルはほぼ失敗し、真の解決はプラスチックの生産を大幅に減らすこと」が主旨。

「Recycling glass and aluminium is more profitable」
= ガラスやアルミのリサイクルの方が儲かる ━ ガラス・アルミは対比のための例に過ぎず、本文の主題はプラスチックの失敗。主旨ではない。
「Consumers who rinse and sort their waste carefully can solve the plastic crisis.」
= 丁寧に洗って分別すれば消費者が解決できる ━ 本文はこの『個人責任』論こそ業界の誘導だと批判しており正反対。
「producers should be legally required to fund」
= 生産者に法的に資金負担を義務づけるべき ━ 本文にそのような法的提言はなく、結論は『生産削減』。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
function as ~	~として機能する	The symbol functions as reassurance.
turn out to be ~	~だと判明する	Recycling turned out to be a myth.
in the first place	そもそも	generate less of it in the first place
deal with ~	~に対処する	deal with plastic waste
a less comforting story	あまり心地よくない事実	The numbers tell a less comforting story.

❝例文

Less than ten per cent of plastic has ever been recycled.
これまでに作られたプラスチックの10%未満しかリサイクルされていない。
The honest conclusion is uncomfortable.
誠実な結論は不快なものだ。
The only reliable solution is to produce far less.
唯一確実な解決策は、はるかに少なく生産することだ。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

主旨設問は最終段の結論文 (The honest conclusion ...) を探すと速い。本文は事実→原因→真因→提言の論説型。

問 2

According to the passage, why does a plastic bottle rarely become another bottle?

Bottles are legally barred from being remade into food-grade containers.
Consumers fail to rinse the bottles thoroughly enough before recycling.
Plastic deteriorates each time it is reprocessed, so it is turned into a lower-grade product.
Municipalities prefer to incinerate bottles for the energy they release.

Phrase

plastic degrades each time it is reprocessed, so a bottle rarely becomes another bottle

準1級読解環境論説詳細把握

⚡ひとことで

プラスチックは再処理のたびに劣化し、低品質品になるためボトルに戻らない。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Plastic deteriorates each time it is reprocessed, so it is turned into a lower-grade product.」

正解

第2段で plastic degrades each time it is reprocessed (再処理のたびに劣化する) と述べ、it becomes a lower-grade product destined ... for the rubbish heap と続ける。ガラスやアルミが無限に再成形できるのと対照的だと示す。これを言い換えた「再処理のたびに劣化し、低品質品にされる」が正解。

「legally barred」
= 法的に禁止されている ━ 法的禁止という記述はない。問題は素材の劣化という物理的性質。
「fail to rinse the bottles thoroughly」
= 消費者が十分に洗わない ━ 洗浄不足は劣化の原因として挙げられていない。
「Municipalities generally prefer to incinerate the bottles for the energy they release.」
= エネルギー回収のため焼却を好む ━ 焼却は処分先の一つとして触れるが、ボトルに戻らない理由ではない。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
degrade each time	そのたびに劣化する	Plastic degrades each time it is reprocessed.
be destined for ~	~行きと定まっている	destined for the rubbish heap
a lower-grade product	より低品質な製品	It becomes a lower-grade product.
almost indefinitely	ほぼ無限に	Glass can be reformed almost indefinitely.
sooner or later	遅かれ早かれ	destined sooner or later for waste

❝例文

Aluminium can be melted and reformed almost indefinitely.
アルミはほぼ無限に溶かして再成形できる。
The material degrades each time it is reprocessed.
その素材は再処理のたびに劣化する。
The bottle becomes a lower
grade product. — そのボトルはより低品質な製品になる。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

detail 設問は本文語を別語に置換した選択肢が正解 (degrades→deteriorates, lower-grade→lower-grade product)。対比 (Unlike glass...) の片側を問う型。

問 3

What does the passage say plastic producers did regarding recycling?

They lobbied governments to ban the sale of single-use plastic outright.
They openly admitted from the start that recycling was unlikely to succeed.
They publicly promoted recycling while privately doubting it could work at scale.
They invested heavily in new technology to make every resin fully recyclable.

Phrase

plastic producers promoted recycling for years while privately doubting it could ever work at scale

準1級読解環境論説詳細把握

⚡ひとことで

生産者は内心では大規模成功を疑いつつ、長年リサイクルを公に推進した。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「They publicly promoted recycling while privately doubting it could work at scale.」

正解

第3段で Industry documents ... reveal that plastic producers promoted recycling for years while privately doubting it could ever work at scale と明記。公には推進しながら内心では大規模実現を疑っていた、という二面性が要点。これを言い換えた選択肢が正解。

「invested heavily in new technology」
= 新技術に多額投資した ━ 本文に投資の記述はなく、むしろ実現を疑っていた。
「They lobbied governments to ban the sale of single-use plastic outright.」
= 使い捨て禁止を働きかけた ━ 正反対。生産抑制の圧力をかわすのが狙いだった。
「openly admitted from the start」
= 最初から公に認めた ━ 公には推進し『privately (内々に)』疑っていたので openly とは矛盾。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
promote ~ for years	何年も~を推進する	They promoted recycling for years.
while privately doubting	内心では疑いながら	promoted it while privately doubting
work at scale	大規模に機能する	doubting it could work at scale
deflect pressure	圧力をかわす	deflect pressure to curb production
curb production at its source	源流で生産を抑える	pressure to curb production at its source

❝例文

They promoted the scheme while privately doubting it.
彼らは内心疑いながらその計画を推進した。
The firm doubted the method could work at scale.
その会社はその手法が大規模に機能するか疑っていた。
The campaign deflected pressure to curb production.
その宣伝は生産抑制の圧力をかわした。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

対比的な詳細 (publicly ... while privately ...) は両側を保持した選択肢を選ぶ。片側だけ (openly admitted) や正反対 (lobbied to ban) は誤答。

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EigoPro 準1級 読解 — The Recycling Myth

この単元の問題を3問、解説つきで公開しています

the only reliable way to deal with plastic waste is to generate far less of it in the first place

plastic degrades each time it is reprocessed, so a bottle rarely becomes another bottle

plastic producers promoted recycling for years while privately doubting it could ever work at scale

EigoPro 準1級読解 — The Recycling Myth