B1 – Intermediate
One problem of any city or country in the world is where to dump their millions of tonnes of wastes.
Europe exports a huge amount of their garbage to developing countries. The problem is a lot of these waste trades are not exactly legal.
Listen to this audio and read the transcript to find out where Europe’s waste trades.
https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/europes-waste-goes-to-other-countries-level-3/
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does “developing country” mean? “Every year, Europe exports millions of tonnes of waste to developing countries; however, a significant portion of these shipments are illegal.” Use this term in a sentence.
- What does “shipment” mean? “Italian customs officers use a new alert system to catch illegal waste shipments.” Give two (2) synonyms or similar expressions and use this word in your own sentence.
- Define “circular economy”. “Recycled materials, like copper from electronic cables, are now being processed within Europe to support the circular economy.” Use this term in a sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- Share your opinion about illegal waste exports from Europe to the developing countries.
- What are the new EU rules to prevent illegal waste exportation?
- What are the effects of waste exports on the developing countries?
- What are your thoughts on Tunisia returning hundreds of containers of waste to Italy?
- Discuss one policy or incentive that can be implemented to improve this situation.