It is estimated that humans now produce 420 million tons of plastic annually, with a significant portion of that entering our oceans.
据估计，人类现在每年生产4.2亿吨塑料，其中很大一部分进入了我们的海洋。
Because plastic does not break down quickly, it is now considered one of the world’s most significant environmental threats. In an effort to help address the planet’s overage of plastic, UC San Diego recently became the first in the United States to install a road that utilizes recycled plastic.
由于塑料分解效率低，因而它被认为是世界上最严重的环境威胁之一。为了帮助解决地球上塑料过剩的问题，加州大学圣地亚哥分校(UC San Diego)最近率先在美国安装使用再生塑料铺路。
The campus enlisted the UK-based company MacRebur Ltd to test out its patented plastic roads concept on a portion of Miramar Street at Regents Road, near the Mesa Nueva Graduate Student Housing. The asphalt contains recycled plastic materials instead of petroleum-based bitumen as a binder.
加州大学圣地亚哥分校与总部位于英国的MacRebur有限公司合作，在位于梅萨新瓦研究生宿舍（the Mesa Nueva Graduate Student Housing）附近的Regents 马路的部分Miramar 街道上测试其专利产品，塑料道路。含可回收塑料材料沥青代替石油基沥青作为粘合剂.
MacRebur created the “plastic road” technology to address two key global issues: what to do with all the plastics on the planet, and maintaining roads around the globe in a cleaner way. UC San Diego Construction Commodity Manager Gary Oshima first came upon the novel technology in a Facebook post, featuring a TED talk by MacRebur co-founder and CEO Toby McCartney.
MacRebur发明的“塑料道路”技术解决了两个关键的全球问题：如何处理地球上所有的塑料，以及如何用更清洁的方式来维护全球各地的道路。加州大学圣地亚哥分校建筑商品理事加里·大岛（Gary Oshima）在facebook的一篇帖子中首次公布了这种新技术，由MacRebur的联合创始人兼首席执行官托比·麦卡特尼(Toby McCartney)进行了TED演讲。
“UC San Diego encourages innovation on campus, particularly as it relates to sustainability, and I thought this might be a viable solution for California and the U.S.,” said Oshima.
“加州大学圣地亚哥分校鼓励校园创新，尤其是与可持续性有关的创新，我认为这可能对加州和美国都是可行的解决方案，”大岛说。
He contacted the company, which expressed interest in finding a location to introduce their product in the U.S. MacRebur had already installed their roadways in the U.K. and Australia, with favorable results. The company offered to donate the plastic for the first installation on campus, and a partnership was conceived.
他联系了该公司，后者表示有兴趣在美国寻找一个可以介绍他们产品的地方。MacRebur已经在英国和澳大利亚铺设过他们的道路且取得了良好的效果。该公司表示愿意捐赠校园第一次铺设道路的塑料，并希望构建合作伙伴关系。
“We’re delighted to be teaming up with UC San Diego to bring our pioneering plastic roads to California and the U.S. for the first time,” said McCartney. “We pride ourselves on being an innovative company and UC San Diego shares these values and is clearly a leader in their field.”
麦卡特尼说：“我们很高兴能与加州大学圣地亚哥分校合作，第一次将我们开创性的塑料道路带到加利福尼亚州和美国。我们为自己是一家创新公司而感到自豪，而加州大学圣地亚哥分校也拥有这些价值观，显然是该领域的领先者。”
The campus will test the new asphalt road for wear and other factors to determine its viability for usage beyond UC San Diego.
学校将测试新的沥青路面的磨损和其他因素，以确定其使用可行性。
“Creating alternative uses for recycled plastic will be a crucial challenge that we all must resolve and maintaining over four million miles of roads in the United States will be an ever-growing problem,” said Oshima, of UC San Diego.
加州大学圣地亚哥分校的大岛说：“有关再生塑料替代用途的创新将是一个至关重要的挑战，我们都必须解决这个问题，同时在美国维持超过400万英里的道路将是一个日益严重的问题。”
“We believe this technology from MacRebur has the potential to address both of these critical challenges. In addition to using unwanted plastics that would have been destined for our landfills or our oceans, it also reduces fossil fuel usage and toxic off gassing during manufacturing to protect the environment.”
他说：“我们相信MacRebur的这项技术有潜力解决这两个关键的挑战。除了不再将这些废弃塑料运往我们的垃圾填埋场或海洋，它还减少了化石燃料的使用和制造过程中有害气体的排放，以保护环境。”
By Jade Grifin, UC San Diego
