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This is Scientific American's 60-second Science, I'm Christopher Intagliata.

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学系列，我是克里斯托弗·因塔格里塔。

You never know if your loved ones are going to like what you bought 'em for the holidays. But one thing you can count on? A huge p?ile of paper trash, the detritus¹ from unwrapping presents.

你永远不知道你爱的人会不会喜欢你买的节日礼物。但有件事你可以确定。一大堆废纸——拆开礼物包装后留下的碎屑。

Americans spend more than 8 billion dollars a year on wrapping paper, according to a recent report by Sundale Research. And we toss millions of pounds of that precious paper in the garbage.

根据圣代尔研究所的最新报告，美国人每年在包装纸上的花费超过80亿美元。我们把数百万磅的珍贵纸张扔进了垃圾桶。

Truth is, it's not that easy to recycle. Metallic² or shiny wrapping papers can't be recycled. Neither can bows or ribbons. And tissue paper doesn't have long enough fibers³ for recycling. One municipal recycler suggests composting tissue instead.

事实上，回收这些纸并不容易。金属或有光泽的包装纸不能回收。蝴蝶结和丝带也不能回收。棉纸因为纤维不够长而不能回收。一位市政回收商建议用堆肥纸代替棉纸。

Though we're spending a lot of money on wrapping paper and ribbons today, Grand View Research forecasts we'll be buying more decorative⁴ boxes, pouches⁵ and bags in the future—which is a more sustainable choice, because those items can be used year after year. Wrapping gifts in fabric—a Japanese tradition—is also growing in popularity.

现在，尽管我们在包装纸和丝带上花了很多钱，但大观研究所预测，我们未来将购买更多装饰盒、袋子和包，这些物品是更可持续的选择，因为这些东西可以年复一年地使用。用布料包装礼物的日本传统也越来越流行。

And if you're wondering whether you should even bother wrapping next year's presents, a 1992 study in the Journal of Consumer Psychology⁶ found that people were happier with their gifts when they got to unwrap them. Here's an idea: instead of spending money on wrapping paper, maybe use money as wrapping paper. That should just about put a bow on it.

如果你想知道明年你是否还会为礼物包装而烦恼，1992年《消费者心理学期刊》上的一项研究可能会给你答案，该研究发现，人们拆开礼物包装时，会对礼物感到更满意。有个主意：与其花钱买包装纸，不如直接用钞票包装礼物。这样一来，应该直接在上面放个蝴蝶结就可以了。

Thanks for listening for Scientific American's 60-second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.

谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是克里斯托弗·因塔利亚塔。