As consumers, we are very wasteful. Annually, the world generates 1.3 billion ions of solid waste. This is expected to go up to 2.2 billion by 2025. The developed countries are _________for 44% of waste, and in the U.S. alone, the average person throws away their body weight in rubbish every month.

Traditional wisdom would seem to suggest that companies have no interest in_________the life cycle of their products and reduce the revenue (营收)they would get from selling new goods._________, more and more businesses are thinking about how to reduce consumer waste. This is_________ driven by the rising price of raw materials and metals. Also, both consumers and companies becoming more aware of the need to protect our environment is another force that contributes.

When choosing what products to buy and which brands to buy from, more and more consumers are looking into sustainability, which is_________ just price and performance they were concerned about in the past. In a survey of 54 of the world's leading brands, almost all of them reported that consumers are showing increasing care about environmental lifestyles. At the same time, surveys on consumers in the U.S. and the U.K. show that they also care about _________ energy use and reducing waste.

_________, consumers control what happens to a product. But some companies are starting to realize that placing the burden of recycling entirely on the consumer is not an effective strategy, especially when_________something seems like the easiest and most convenient option.

Some retailers and manufacturers in the clothing, footwear, and electronics industries have launched _________programs, They want io make their customers interested in __________ their products and preventing things that still have value from going to the landfill. By offering services to help expand the longevity of their products, they're promising quality and __________ to consumers, and receiving the__________ gains for being environmentally friendly and socially responsible.

Enormous opportunities also__________e-waste. It is estimated that in 2014 the world produced some 42 million metric tons of e-waste (discarded electrical and electronic equipment and its parts) with North America and Europe accounting for 8 and 12 million metric tons __________. The materials from e-waste include iron, copper, gold, silver, and aluminum-materials that could be reused, resold, recovered, or recycled. Together, the value of these metals is estimated to be about $52 billion. Electronics giants like BestBuy and Samsung have provided e-waste __________programs over the past few years, which aim to refurbish (翻新)old electronic components and parts into new products.

Eradajere Oleita thinks she may have a partial solution for two of her country’s persistent (持续的) problems: garbage and poverty (贫困). It’s called the Chip Bag Project. The 26-year-old student and environmentalist from Detroit is asking a (n) _________ of local snack lovers: Rather than _________ your empty chip bags into the trash (垃圾桶), _________ them so she can turn them into sleeping bags for the _________.

Chip eaters drop off their _________ bags from Doritos (多力多滋薯片), Lay’s (乐事薯片), and other favorites at two _________ in Detroit: a print shop and a clothing store, where Oleita and her volunteer helpers collect them. After they _________ the chip bags in soapy hot water, they _________ them open, lay them flat, and iron them together. They use soft materials from old coats to line the insides.

It _________ about four hours to sew a sleeping bag, and each takes around 150 to 300 chip bags, __________ whether they’re single-serve or family size. The result is a sleeping bag that is “waterproof, lightweight, and easy to carry __________,” Oleita told the Detroit News.

Since its start in 2020, the Chip Bag Project has __________ more than 800,000 chip bags and, as of last December, __________ 110 sleeping bags.

Sure, it would be simpler to __________ the money to buy new sleeping bags. But that’s only half the __________ for Oleita—whose family moved to the United States from Nigeria a decade ago with the hope of __________ a better life—and her fellow volunteers. “We are__________ ourselves to making an impact not only socially, but environmentally,” she says.

And, of course, there’s the symbolism of recycling bags that would otherwise land in the __________ and using them to help the homeless. It’s a powerful reminder that environmental problems and poverty often go __________. As Oleita told hourdetroit.com: “I think it’s time to show __________ between all of these issues.”

Last year, because of her habit of collecting garbage on her way to school, kids in her hometown of Hellesdon, England, gave Nadia Sparkes an unfortunate nickname: “Trash Girl.” _________, however, Sparkes received it.

Due to her _________, Sparkes will soon be picking up more than trash, as former UK Prime Minster Theresa May _________ her with a Points of Light Award on April 12, 2019.

Theresa May _________ a personal letter to the winner in which she praises her work and explains the importance of her _________. “Through your ‘Trash Girl’ campaign you are changing _________ on littering and inspiring thousands of your fellow students to _________,” she wrote, “You are sending a(an) _________ message that we should all take responsibility for looking after our local _________, and should feel very proud of the __________ this is making.”

Impressively, this is not the first __________ she has. Just last month, she was made one of the __________ Earth House Ambassadors by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy has made her a “Litter Hero”, and David Luke Schoolwear has __________ her one of “16 Heroes under 16 Years Old” ecology influencers.

Even with all of fame and __________, Sparkes remains extraordinarily humble (谦逊的) and focuses on __________ the planet’s problems. “I am so amazed and __________ to be given such an honor and I just hope that this helps to __________ how important it is for all of us to __________ together to make our world a better place,” she says about her Point of Light Award. “Every small action that each of us makes __________, whether good or bad. Please make a(an) __________ to pick up 3 pieces of litter every day.”