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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 the most amount of plastic waste was when I was going to my tuitions from my home. During that time, I was in my school time, so it was a long way back, and I saw a pile of plastic waste on the side of the road and some cows were trying to find their food in that junk. I was very sad looking at it as the cows may eat the plastic while trying to find food. The plastic waste was located at the corner of the road near the railway station. It was thinking really bad as it also had some other food litters within it. The most saddest part of it was to see other animals trying to find food. I think that the authorizations and people in the government should clean and take care of these places. I tried to help the cow to get away from the pile of plastic waste so that it doesn't eat it, and that is the thing that I helped out with.

    Band 6-7

    During my time in Loyola, I took up a project on reverse logistics, which is the flow of products from the end consumers to the manufacturers, so that the manufacturers can recycle them and redistribute them back to the market for consumers' use. This is supposed to reduce the use of non-renewable items like plastics. For this research, I visited a massive dump yard in Chennai, where I was given the chance to calculate the amount of plastic waste that could be recycled with the help of various plastic manufacturers in Tamil Nadu. Here, I noticed that the number of plastic bottles, bags, or packaging items that are being thrown amounts to almost seven to eight tons per day, and this is just plastic and not including other biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. This was quite terrible, and it made me understand how much potential that a state could have, a city could have, when we're talking about recycling plastic waste. Seven to eight tons is approximately the weight of 12 to 15 elephants.

    Band 6-7

    I have been living in Delhi for quite some time now and it's not unusual at all to see a lot of plastic waste piled up around the streets, corners, on the roads, in front of the temples, schools, any kind of building, you name it, you will find some plastic waste around it lying here and there. Since Delhi is a very crowded and a congested city, this might also be the reason for the large amount of waste the city produces. I remember one time while I was coming to Delhi from my hometown, we took an unusual road which was new to us and we could see a huge mountain which is the infamous mountain of trash while entering Delhi and I felt very very disappointed on seeing it but it did inspire me to make several changes in my personal life to minimize the plastic waste I produce. I have switched to jute bags now, I use reusable bottles, I have stopped using plastic bottles, plastic bags etc.

    Band 6-7

    So, the place where I saw a lot of plastic was on the beach. I went on the beach with a VSO NGO through my college organization and when I went over there, I was not even having this thought in my mind that there would be so much of litter on the beach because whenever I have visited the beach, I have never seen so much waste or garbage on the area where normally people visit. So when we went with that NGO, they showed us a pile of garbage which was a kind of hidden in the end of the beach where normally people never used to visit. So, I was totally flabbergasted after seeing that because I didn't know that people litter so much on the beach. It is a very beautiful place and I don't think people should do that as a lot of dustbins and resources have been provided. You just need to have some social ethics in order to keep our surroundings clean and not make our earth a pile of garbage. So, after looking at that, we all made groups, we had plastic bags and gloves and some thongs and then we started picking up the litter, collecting it in many bags and then we cleaned up half of the beach and after 3 hours, we went back to our hostels. So this was my experience.

    Band 6-7

    Currently, the location I'm living in, it's I live in a, in an apartment complex. So right outside my complex, not I would say not right outside, I would say a little bit towards the end of the complex, when I step outside, I see this entire area, I won't say entire, I would say a little bit of the area, filled with littered goods. And it mostly constitute, constituted plastic. I was, I was genuinely shocked to see that people are living near, they have living quarters and right outside that, outside that, there is a huge pile of garbage. It was giving bad odour and also the animal, there were multiple animals, I saw multiple animals surrounding that area, trying to eat from there, which is completely unhealthy for them. Many animals die because of that. And not only that, I also saw many insects and birds sitting on that pile of garbage. Because of this, numerous diseases spread and people fall sick. So that kind of a thing to notice in a very developing city is very astonishing. I would obviously, I would definitely not like, I definitely don't like living near certain areas and seeing that in front of my complex is a horrible experience and I wish someone would take care of it, but it's a lot.

    Band 6-7

    I clearly remember an incident that happened last summer when I went to a nearby beach with my family. We were very much excited to spend a day there, but as soon as we arrived, an amount of plastic was spread over the sea. There were plastic bottles, fruit packets and bags floating in the water and lying on the sea. The main reason, I think, was the cleanliness of visitors. Many people bring snacks and drinks packed in plastic and leave the waste inside instead of throwing in the dustbin. Moreover, the beach management didn't have enough garbage or a proper cleaning facility, which made the situation. At first, I felt upset, but then I decided to do something. I joined a small group in cleaning the beach that day. We collected as much waste as we could and put it in the garbage bag. It was tiring, but it feels good and contributes in some way. Honestly, it was quite an eye-opening experience. I realized how serious the plastic pollution problem occurs in the world now, and how our small habits can harm the environment. Since that day, I have tried to avoid using single-use plastic and also plastic garbage bags. I also encourage my friends and my relatives to do the same thing.

    Band 6-7

    Yes, so once I went with my friends to Juhu beach, it's here located in Mumbai and we wanted to enjoy the serene weather, it was the evening time, so everything was really pleasant and we wanted to have a beautiful time instant, we instead we met with the horrendous atmosphere, we saw the plastic, they all were laid around the beach, which made us question why did we come to Juhu beach at the first place, it was terrible, the smell was pathetic and literally there was no space for us to sit and enjoy, we couldn't go into the water because the water was smelling funky and it was extremely black and then what I realized we all have to collectively, it cannot be done overnight, but we all have to consciously make a decision to use plastic very less, we have to reduce the usage as much as we can, we must use dustbins, we shouldn't litter around and we all need to collectively develop civic sense, which I feel like is missing here and then I kind of, that was the stepping stone when I joined a couple of NGOs and we did the beach cleanup drive and then I started writing some natural, you know, some blogs in order to reduce the usage of plastic bags around us.

    Band 6-7

    Last week I visited a local fish market which is located nearby my house. When I went there, I saw people buying fishes in black plastic bags. And instead of throwing those bags into the garbage, they threw those bags on the road. Personally, I felt very bad seeing the situation there, the way people roam there, the way they were making mess out of that place. It was a terrible sight. But it can be improved if we help people to understand the basic civic sense and to teach them how to throw garbage baggages into the garbage box or in dustbins. And when I came home from that fish market, the smell I had throughout my travel from fish market to the home, it was a very bad smell, you can say, a terrible smell.

    Band 6-7

    There are not a lot of times when I see the plastic waste around me but the time that I remember was three years back from now when I was moving to Bangalore for my interview. I saw the plastic waste that has been collected at the end of the road and I look ahead and further look into the matter what is the reason behind it. Furthermore I investigated and I came to know that the society throws the waste at this end of the street because there is no municipal corporation party that come here and take the waste from this society and also it was known biodegradable and there was lot of smell around it which also creates the environment that is not suitable for people to live in and it also cause disease that are not good for human health. Moreover it is most important for an individual to keep themselves in a hygiene environment and also maintain the level of the equilibrium in the atmosphere. Then I reach out to municipal corporation and told them about the event that there is no requirement or there is no requirement available in the area. So they came and took in initial steps to clean the waste and after then when I came back after one week so all the waste was gone and it was the incident that shows us.

    Band 6-7

    Once upon a time I was traveling to the Chhattisgarh and meanwhile in my travel I experienced a lot of plastic wastage in the road and for like for an hour our car stopped there and I was like really I would say surprised to see this much plastic because before that I never ever experienced a lot of plastic waste and to be very honest that much garbage on our road and I don't know what was the reason of that much plastic in that area but it was surrounded with lot of bad smell and then I just called to the community corporation like who is responsible for all the cleanliness and tell them to take action soon as possible because my uncle have some authority that's why I request to him to hand over the coal to me and then just I just take over the coal instead of my uncle and said them to take action as soon as possible to clean the plastic then I dwell into the reason why there is so much plastic in the area then I came to know that some other before there was a big program because of that the plastic
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