Episode Details

Hey there, you’re listening to an all-new episode of News Bites. I’m Jacob Ingram. And I’m Paz Bueno. In today's news, The public is urged to use spare coins to help cut carbon emissions … and Italian designers use fruit peel to make furniture. Wait, did you just say fruit peel? Uh, yeah… How can you make furniture from fruit? That’s just what it says… Right then. And in today’s tasty tidbit … the deepest part of the ocean. Stay tuned for more on those stories, coming up next. ________________________________ TOP OF TAIWAN 央行邀民眾一起讓硬幣動起來減碳。 Public urged to use spare coins to help cut carbon emissions. What do you do with the coins you get from buying things? Do you keep them in your purse or wallet? Or do you put them in your piggy bank (撲滿)? Coins are heavy, and that’s why a lot of people don’t like bringing them. But now, the Central Bank (中央銀行) are asking people to spend their coins to help cut carbon emissions. Now you might be wondering, what does spending coins have to do with carbon emissions? As technology advances every day, e-payments (行動支付) are getting more convenient. You can pay with the swipe of a card or cellphone. It’s so much faster than counting your coins for the exact amount. As a result, many people leave them at home. Therefore less and less coins circulate (流通) on the market. However, business owners still need them to give change (找零錢) to customers. This is especially true at traditional markets and night markets. They have to exchange bills for coins at the bank. But there are not enough coins circulating, as a lot of them are sitting in people’s homes. So, the central bank will have to make more to meet the demands. To do this, they would have to buy the materials, which are mined (採礦). The materials are then be minted (鑄幣) into coins. The process from mining to minting would create unnecessary carbon emissions. The Central Bank also added that making deposits with coins can also help the cause. There are seven financial institutions (金融機構) that are equipped with automated coin deposit machines. All you have to do is just locate them and pour the coins into the machines. 很難想像花錢與存錢竟然也可以救地球。 So, let’s all start hunting for coins under our beds, couches and empty our piggy banks. ________________________________ GOING GLOBAL 義大利設計師用果皮製造家具。 Italian designers use fruit peel to make furniture. In a perfect world, everything can be reused, reused and recycled. But in the real world, that is not the case. According to a report by the Circle Economy Foundation, only 7.2% of used materials are being fully recycled and reused. The rest just end up in landfills (掩埋場) or incinerators (焚化爐). But what if there is perfect material that could be reused over and over again, and is biodegradable (生物分解)? A group of designers from Italy might just have the answer. An Italian company named Krill Design created a biomaterial (生物材料) called Rekrill. The material is made from fruit peel, orange seeds and coffee ground waste. The food waste is first dried and crushed into a very fine powder. Then, it is compounded with a biodegradable plastic alternative (替代品) known as PHB. The powder makes the PHB more rigid (堅硬). The compound is put into a 3D printer to print the products. Currently, the company manufactures products like bookends, stools, clocks and bowls. If the product is discarded after a few years, the company will recover it. It will then be crushed and used to print other new products. If the material ends up in the ocean by mistake, it is fully biodegradable. Di Maio, the director of the company, said that Rekrill is as sturdy (結實) as wood. It will not degrade unless it’s touched by water, bacteria or acidity (酸性). When it breaks down in the ocean, it’s even safe for the fish to eat. De