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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

    I recall visiting a beach recently and it was disheartening to see the amount of plastic waste scattered along the shoreline. There were plastic bottles, straws, bags and other disposable items littered everywhere, which seemed to have been discarded carelessly by beach goers. The sight was not only unpleasant but also disturbing, given the impact of plastic waste on marine life. It was clear that many people had not taken the time to properly dispose of their trash and the ocean currents had washed it up onto the shore. The experience left a lasting impression on me, highlighting the need for greater awareness and action to reduce plastic waste and promote sustainable practices.

    Band 6-7

    I would like to share a personal experience regarding the waste, plastic waste. This was during my industrial college visit when we were taken to a small town near outskirts of Maharashtra. There I witnessed a lot of plastic waste on roads, in the water and factories disposing the same plastic liquid waste into the waters. As much as I wanted to help the entire village, all I could do was to pick up the plastic waste from the main road and to collect it towards the side of the road. I also encouraged my friends to help me out in the same process. After three hours of hard work, we successfully managed to clean one whole street of plastic waste as well as the other types of waste. As collecting this, I had numerous thoughts in my head that how does the panchayat system function or why is there not an aid to the waste management in the villages. This also makes me concerned about the health and the issues of the public living in the nearby areas. Disposing more and more plastic in the environment would cause significant damage to the environment as plastic is not disposable in nature, it would cause soil erosion as well as it might if mixed in water in liquid state, it might cause water degradation having an alarming effect to the marine ecosystem. However, I would like to urge every single person to collect as much as waste possible in their nearby areas and together we would have a strong impact on the waste management.

    Band 6-7

    As we see that majority of the pollution is caused by plastic waste and as we know that plastic doesn't get dissolved in soil easily. So in India the main problem of pollution is due to the plastic waste because citizens are not given proper knowledge to how to manage the plastic waste and how to dispose it. So during my recent education trip, we got a chance to visit Kolkata to see their heritage. But as we entered Kolkata, the first impression of the city was it was a city of junkyard. Wherever we have gone, we just only see plastic waste fallen on the streets. There was no proper management throughout the city and the civic sense in people was not there. They were just throwing the plastic waste on the street due to which the cows and the animals were eating it. And as all over, the impression of the city was not good because as we all know that Kolkata is known for the heritage sites and clean roads, but it was totally opposite. We feel very disturbed to see that people were eating chips and wafer and they were just throwing it on the road. Although there was garbage dustbin nearby, but as they were not given proper knowledge that how you have to dispose these things, they were just throwing it. I think that government which is handling all the waste in Kolkata must see this and use fine like things so that people get a proper sense that whether they have to fine or they have to use their civic sense to clean their city.

    Band 6-7

    So, as in the early morning yesterday, I saw a lot of plastic waste near my city. I was walking through my racing track and in the Maksuta Chang, in my city, I came to know about a place where generally people put their garbage, but there was a lot of garbage putted here as the dustbin was full and there was a lot of bags and this smelled really badly. Even animals were terrorized of this act. The animals were just so frustrated that they were staying away from it and even me, I felt very uncomfortable and I felt really sad for my city that it had so much plastic waste. It ruined the beautiful scenery of the morning as I was going for a jog and I felt really bad afterwards also, so I wrote a letter to my local municipal corporation as they manage all this work and I requested them to make necessary rules or regulations so this plastic waste can be removed and that's all.

    Band 6-7

    Nowadays the problem of littering is everywhere and today I would like to talk about a time when I saw a lot of garbage in my city. Last week I was travelling to another city and on the way I saw a big junkyard of garbage and upon seeing that garbage waste I felt very sorrowful for my city and for the management because it is the responsibility of management to look after the waste to properly dispose it and another problem would be the persons. People often do littering and they don't care about the streets, they just saw an empty space and throw the garbages out and when I saw that waste I called the authorities to properly dispose this garbage junkyard because it is not best for the city because a lot of tourists go on this route and they may see this huge junkyard and they might have different impression of our city.

    Band 6

    Nowadays everybody is using plastic bags covers abundantly instead of reducing the plastic people are more fond of using plastic bags as I have seen in so many places people are carrying carry bags to the vegetable market and fruit market instead of using zoot or any other bags. Also last time I went to the beach I have seen so much of plastic there I feel very bad by seeing it I feel like we should clean everything I should clean but I know I can't clean all the things there so I decided to conduct a campaign I discussed with my friends regarding the plastic on sea we people are in the NCC group and some of my friends are from NSS group also then we decided to conduct a camp on next Saturday to remove all the plastics from the sea and also I want to conduct a program to bring awareness about the plastic and I promote the use of it.

    Band 6

    We visited Thailand 4 months ago for our family trip, me, my husband and my daughter were on the trip, there we saw a hell lot of use of plastic things in our daily life, during the trip they provided the food and drinks in different type of plastic containers, they provided food in round containers along with the plastic plates, plastic spoons, they also used to carry different type of water bottle which were also, which were not in the glass material, this shows, this hurt me a lot and what we did, we bought our glass water bottle and filled our water from our hotel itself, which helped me to save plastic water bottles, also we started carrying the paper plates with us, so whenever they used to provide us the food, we ask them to dispose of the plastic and provide food in our paper plates, plastic is injurious to the environment, we know that when plastic, there is excessive use of plastic, it also affect our health, which may lead to very rare conditions which is called cancer, keeping this all in mind, we requested and put a note to the government saying that plastic should be banned, this was the recommendation when we left from our family vacation.

    Band 6

    One day I went to the walk on the roads on my streets or near houses, I saw a lot of plastic papers and bottles are not correctly put on the dustbins, they are thrown on the soils and the streets of the roads and it covers a lot of rain waters because it was the rainy season and it was the places for the mosquitoes and it started to prepare reproductions on the rain waters and it spreads the dengue, malaria and some diseases for the peoples. When I saw it, I know it spreads a lot of diseases but what can I do for that, I started to remove the plastics around the streets and clear them in the correct way and I sticker the paper on the trees and the walls of the streets to not throw the plastics on the way, put it on the dustbins and some slogans to correct the peoples and the only way of correcting the peoples was correct teaching about the dustbin methods and the proper waste disposal methods and never using the plastic bags and bottles and instead of using wooden and some greeny papers like cardboard and some of the disposal things and ok.

    Band 6

    Last year I was travelling to my native place with my family, where on the way I saw a lot of plastic waste roaming around, was thrown around by the people. This was definitely not a right thing, which I thought. I saw a lot of people throwing plastic waste on the road instead of throwing it in a dust bin, which was completely unacceptable. I thought of giving them a lesson about the same thing, about teaching how it helps us and the environment, and how it affects the animal life that is roaming around. I also explained about the animal life that is getting affected because of this waste. Definitely people got to learn more about this, and I also told them not to throw anything on the road as there are specific dust bins for specific places, for specific waste. So definitely people understood, they apologized, and the next two days before I visited the same place and I saw a lot of improvement in that place. So definitely people are starting doing the things correctly, which is great for the environment. Thank you.

    Band 6

    So there was a time when I saw a lot of plastic waste Last year I was travelling to my friend's house He lives in East Delhi suburb, Preet Vihar So I was travelling by car that day My friend had called me for his birthday party When going to East Delhi from West Delhi We have to cross a place called Mukarba Chowk It is a bypass area which connects the entire city Entire parts of the city So when I was crossing Mukarba Chowk I saw that the government has made a type of mountain from the plastic waste It was done to create a landfill Basically it was a landfill which was given the shape of a mountain The ruling party is trying to reduce the pollution in that particular area By planting trees in that mountain Throughout the day all the vehicles move there And put mud and creates a proper soil So that trees could survive there
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