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Describe A Time When You Saw A Lot Of Plastic Waste: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • Where and when did you see the plastic waste?
  • Why was there a lot of plastic waste?
  • What did you do after you saw it?
  • And explain what your thoughts were about this.
Show all 92 answers

Cue 1:Where and when did you see the plastic waste?

  • Begin by describing the location where you encountered the plastic waste, such as a beach, park, or riverbank.
  • Mention the time of year or specific occasion, like a festival or holiday, to give context to your experience.

Example

I saw a lot of plastic waste last summer at Juhu Beach in Mumbai. It was during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, a time when many people visit the beach to immerse idols. Unfortunately, after the celebrations, the beach was littered with plastic bags, bottles, and food wrappers.

Cue 2:Why was there a lot of plastic waste?

  • Explain the reasons behind the accumulation of plastic waste, such as lack of awareness or inadequate waste disposal facilities.
  • You can also mention the cultural practices that contribute to the problem, like the use of single-use plastics during festivals.

Example

The reason for the excessive plastic waste was mainly due to the large number of visitors who brought food and drinks in plastic containers. Many people were unaware of the environmental impact of their actions, and there were not enough bins available for proper disposal.

Cue 3:What did you do after you saw it?

  • Share your immediate reaction upon seeing the plastic waste and any actions you took.
  • Mention if you participated in any clean-up efforts or raised awareness about the issue.

Example

After seeing the plastic waste, I felt compelled to do something. I joined a local group that was organizing a beach clean-up the following weekend. We collected bags full of plastic and other debris, and it felt good to contribute to the environment.

Cue 4:And explain what your thoughts were about this.

  • Reflect on your feelings regarding the situation and the broader implications of plastic waste.
  • Discuss any changes in your behavior or perspective that resulted from this experience.

Example

Seeing the plastic waste made me really concerned about our environment. It made me realize how important it is to reduce plastic usage and promote recycling. Since then, I’ve started carrying my own reusable bags and bottles to minimize my plastic footprint.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, witnessing the plastic waste at Juhu Beach was an eye-opening experience. It highlighted the urgent need for awareness and action regarding plastic pollution. I believe that if we all take small steps, we can make a significant difference in protecting our environment.

    Following this structure will ensure you cover all the essential points while providing a clear and engaging response to the cue card topic.

    Tips to answer this Cue Card

    1: Vague Descriptions

    Using vague language can make your answer unclear. Avoid general statements that do not provide specific details about the location or situation of the plastic waste.

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    Tip

    Be specific about where and when you saw the plastic waste. Use descriptive language to paint a clear picture for the examiner.

    2: Lack of Personal Reflection

    Failing to share your personal thoughts can make your response less engaging. It's important to express how the experience affected you emotionally or intellectually.

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    Tip

    Include your feelings and thoughts about the plastic waste. Explain why it was significant to you and what you learned from the experience.

    Ignoring the Cause

    Not addressing why there was a lot of plastic waste can lead to an incomplete answer. Understanding the cause adds depth to your response.

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    Tip

    Discuss the reasons behind the plastic waste, such as local events or habits. This shows your awareness of environmental issues and enhances your answer.

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    All Answers

    Here are all the answers by real-users practicing speaking for IELTS Cue Cards on our IELTS Prep App.

    Band 6-7

    The time when I saw a lot of plastic waste was just two months ago when I was on a bridge. I was crossing a river and there was a small hole from which the river water was flowing because under the bridge a lot of plastic waste was gathered or I should say cluttered. It was mainly because of the local people around the river dumped the plastic waste. Every kind of plastic there were polythene bags, plastic covers, delivery covers, packages and everything and the garbage was dumped in the river itself and was not cleaned. So when I saw that I just checked what authority is responsible for cleaning this river, what rules and regulations are there, I thought why aren't there any rules and regulations and why is the authority not implementing those rules and why aren't they punishing the people who are dumping the waste there. So then I complained about the river on the website where the department of cleaning is responsible.

    Band 6-7

    Let me start this topic by giving a personal example. I moved to the city of Mumbai for my undergraduation studies and while I was there, I used to visit the beach quite often. One day when I went to the beach in the morning for the first time, I saw a lot of plastic waste randomly lying here and there and as it was a high tide day, a lot of it kept coming from the sea also. It made me really question the human ethics and the basic social values that people have these days. I saw so many people beside me still kept throwing stuff into the sea. I have been to the beach quite a few times now but it was really surprising to see how much the cleanliness had deteriorated over the years. Back then it was so clean and people were so mindful. So after seeing that, I really took it upon myself to organize a group and to bring together a group of people who would help me clean the beach. I was part of the social team in our college marketing department and I put it upon everyone in the team to make sure that we created a lot of awareness for this and got as many volunteers to help clean the beach. It was a very thrilling experience and it made me feel a lot better about my time and how we are spending our weekends. So we organized a one month beach cleanliness drive which was held every Sunday for four hours where we used to come together and clean the beach. It made me feel very happy.

    Band 6-7

    When I was traveling to Delhi last month for catching a flight, I came across a very large heap of garbage. On the entrance of a capital, I felt this was very horrendous. I was made to question the government on how this could be possible, what impression it would make on someone who comes to visit Delhi for the first time. The place had a lot of scavengers hovering over the heap of garbage. The place had a very foul smell. This made me think that if the people who live around it come in contact with such surroundings, this would lead to their deterioration of health, and not only it is impactful on their health, it is also impactful on their way of thinking, their mindset.

    Band 6-7

    This was a very fresh incident in my mind in last couple of days where I saw a lot of plastics beside a road very near to my house. It was dumped with a lot of garbage and it was stinking all around. I do often travel by this road and watching this made me very uncomfortable as plastic is a commodity which has to be ignored. And when such dumping grounds are created beside a road, it's very clear that people are not into a clean society or not bothered about what's going on. I did complain to the municipal corporation about this and asked them to clean the place as fast as possible. Moreover, a dog can try to have a bite in this plastic and then fall prey to it and also might lose his life. So it was very concerning for me and also it was terribly unhygienic. Plastic should be avoided and people should move towards paper when it comes to any work or any shopping that they do. But that waste beside the road made me feel responsible for my society.

    Band 6-7

    Plastic waste is a crucial problem that the society needs to take care of, else it will be having detrimental effect on our environment. Similar experience, I recently visited Varudhara for my weekly meeting with my state staff and there I saw a pile of plastic waste being dumped in the nearby river. For a moment I was frozen because the amount of it was humongous and it was obvious because it was Navratri time and people do have a lot of events in the nearby area. But I had a question why is that plastic dumped in a nearby river in the city where I thought that I could just go and stop them but as I had my meeting I couldn't do much. That made me wonder how human beings are using natural resources as a dumping ground for their own creation of a material like plastic. It is very sad to see how things are going out of the hay especially in terms of human developments and what is the detrimental side of it that we are not really thoughtful of. As human beings we need to take care of our subjects especially our development and how our creation is affecting the environment. It needs to be thought of and not just thought of but taken care of through actions, practical steps that are going to take and form or create a better...

    Band 6-7

    This instance was in my master's course days when I was residing in a place called Nayagaon. So I used to cross this dump yard everyday when I had to go to my college for my classes. So everyday people would just come in their vehicles and just dump their plastics and other household wastes in the same place where other peoples do. And out there there was a pile of plastics heaped up one above another. So it was very uncomfortable to pass that area as it had that particular smell which was very repellent. So as I saw this heap of plastic waste everyday I used to wonder what are the people around here doing about it. And when I came home and researched about this in YouTube I realized that the main problem lied in the location of this place. Because it was in the border areas, the fringe areas of Chandigarh and Punjab. So it was very difficult for any authority to maintain the cleanliness of that area. So I think it was the strategic location of this area which made it very difficult to have an authority over the waste dumping there. So people from both sides of the state came and dumped their waste in this area as there was no one to hinder them while doing that.

    Band 6-7

    In my country, we use a lot of plastic for our everyday essentials, like when we go to supermarket they used to offer us a plastic bag to carry our things home. And in small shops too, we used to get a plastic car after we finally pay the bill and we used to put our groceries in that plastic bag and he used to hand out to us. In India, it's very common thing to use plastic bags so that's why it is more often that we use plastic bags everywhere for our everyday things, like to carry vegetables or fruits or anything like that. That's why there is a lot of plastic waste in our country. Plastic has become a very big problem in India so we can regularly see it on roads, like plastic waste is all around the roads and now, nowadays cows are eating those plastic and they are getting sick of it by consuming the plastic on the roads. We need to reduce the use of plastic and we need to use more paper bags to reduce the pollution that is caused or occurred by plastic. We usually saw plastic bags or plastic waste everyday. The packing itself has plastic wrap on it. We used to take that wrap and we can eat the things or cook the things inside that thing. So plastic is a regular waste in India.

    Band 6-7

    A time, I do remember a time when I saw a lot of plastic waste. I still remember when I was in school, I was too excited about my school annual function. It was a time when I really enjoyed a lot. When I was a child, I was very fond of taking part in annual functions. Annual functions held at my school had many activities and performances. It also had many stalls where we could get eatables and many cuisines and dishes. We were also given invitation cards to invite our parents to the school annual function. I used to have a great time with my friends. But one thing which I didn't like was children as well as their parents when had the eatables, they threw the plastic or the waste material on the ground. Though we had many dustbins, but still they preferred throwing them rather than putting them in the dustbin itself. I really did not feel good after having witnessed this incident. So I went straight to my principal's office and talked to him about the matter. He listened to me profoundly and took the decision to make strict rules for people to throw their garbage in the dustbin and put a fire on those who repeated it again.

    Band 6-7

    I saw a lot of plastic waste on my road trip from Delhi to Meerut. I was going to Meerut in order to visit my grandparents with my family. On our way we saw a big mountain of plastic waste beside a river. There was a lot of plastic waste thrown which resulted in a big mountain. A putrid smell was coming from it and the view was very disgusting. On asking the locals we got to know that every week bulldozers come and throw waste from landfills in that area which has resulted in creation of a big mountain. In order to solve this problem my family and I took pictures of the mountain and shared it on twitter and tagged the local authorities. We continued to do this till the time there was any response from them. After weeks of attempts finally we got a message from the MCD that they would be taking strict action against the contractors who were throwing plastic waste in that area. After a few months the MCD with the help of the contractors slowly started to throw plastic from that area and send it to recycling plants.

    Band 6-7

    When I first visited Kashmir, it's a state in northern part of India, there was a village known as Pahelgaon. It's just the same as we see villages in plain lands. The village in Kashmir, in a hilly zone, area. So when I first visited that place and going by the, going amidst the mountains and going by the wavy roads, it was disheartening to see wastes which were mainly, primarily plastics. Plastic bottles or plastic polythene sheets on the road sides or maybe on the water bodies, mainly the Jhelum river that was flowing out there. So it was pathetic to see that because such an amazing place, such a beautiful place, very scenic and a treat to your eyes, to your mind, everything. But seeing such, at the same time when you see such snow-capped mountains and an amazing view from the window, but you have to also see those wastes flowing or maybe stuck on the plants or on the river sides, on the river bed, that was very shocking. I think it's a very small place, very small village, very less population is there. So disturbing enough to see that because people, we as citizens, it's a basic responsibility for us to keep a check on to all those things.
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