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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

    The first time that I saw the plastic waste was when I went for a clean-up drive from an NGO organization, NGO group called as Project Reach Out. So basically we had went to clean the nearby areas of Kukeli Lake in Mysore. When I actually went there, I saw that there were piles of plastic covers, plastic papers and plastic bottles lying everywhere around the place. There was a lot of plastic waste in that area because Kukeli Lake is a public place and the maintenance is not so well designed, so the cleanliness is not being maintained properly. So as soon as we saw it, we organized a clean-up drive from our NGO, calling all the people involved in the NGO organization to help us clean the surrounding places. We went in the morning at around 8 o'clock and it was really good experience because we cleaned a lot of garbage and helped to clean the whole environment. It was really great for us to go to it. My thoughts about this would be that making garbage in public places is really very bad because it…

    Band 6

    Well, I remember 5 years back, I was travelling with my family to Haridwar to take a holy dip in Ganga. So, when we reached at Ganga Ghat or also known as Harki Badi, I saw a lot of plastic waste was just in the Ganga. People were throwing a lot of plastic bottles, plastic wrappers and many flowers and other waste material in the Ganga. I felt a little bad to be very honest at that time, but what could I have done because there is a lot of population that goes to Ganga to take a holy dip. I was a child at that time. What was in my hand was that I told my parents not to do these things and I also told my friends. They were also with me and my other extended cousins. We decided not to throw anything into Ganga. There were assigned dustbins at Harki Badi and we collected all our garbage and decided to put them in different blue and green garbage bags. I honestly think that people are not aware of the things they are doing bad to the environment and they must be made aware of the impact, the bad impact or the negative impact they are causing to the environment.

    Band 6

    Plastic is something so very essential. It is harmful to the environment, but it is also so much useful in our daily use. I remember that once I had seen plastic, so much of plastic, and it actually hurt me from within. It was some years ago, I had gone with my friends for a trek. I love trekking. So as we were going, we just love to be in nature, experience the quietness, be in touch with the environment. And just the sound of the flowing water is very soothing. Moreover, as we walked, as we experienced, and were one with the environment, we saw a heap of plastic in the middle of the wildlife sanctuary. It must have been people who had dropped it all around. I believe it was collected together, gathered and piled up in a place. Looking at that, it wrenched my heart, because this was something that I would not expect to see in the forest. But looking at it made me really very sad. So what could we have done about it? We actually took a photo, which normally everyone does. We made a small short video about how we need to take care of the environment. Moreover, we had some plastic bags with us. Coincidentally, yes. Ironically, yes. We put some of that plastic into it. We carried as much as possible with us to take it out of the wildlife sanctuary. And as soon as we reached out of the sanctuary,

    Band 6

    Couple days back, I went to a beach around the city and I saw a lot of plastic garbage around, in and around the beach which made me feel disgusted and all the trash was all around the beach and around the trees, on the pathway of walking. This created a nuisance around and I really felt bad, thinking that the nature is getting damaged and disturbed because of the people, because of all of us, because of humans basically. However, I couldn't stop myself and I started collecting some of the garbage around which was possible for me, like I was all by myself, couldn't collect much of it, but I thought let's just help a bit, right? So, there was litter around and I think it is creating a disturbance for the nature and the plastic should be banned to some extent, like wherever it is mandatory use of plastic, one can use it, but where it is not required, we can use alternate options for that. I think recycle bags or containers we can use and so that we can help in mankind and save the mother earth. The planet is getting damaged because of the plastic, so I think it should be banned.

    Band 6

    It was when I was in Korea, South Korea, I've seen a lot of plastic waste because in Korea there is a, I don't know if it's a law or something, but there are not many dustbins in the roads for people to use. So there was a lot of plastic waste. I think it was because people just don't want to go a little long to find a dustbin. And it's also difficult to find dustbins in Korea, even though it is a very clean country I would say. After when I said the plastic waste, it was just that I picked up the waste and carried it on a bag and put it in a dustbin which was a little meters or some meters away. I think South Korea is a very clean country as well as most of the Asian countries like Japan and China. But there should be more quantities of dustbin in the roads because people always tend to go for shopping and buy a lot of things to eat as a snack or something and they couldn't find a dustbin. So of course they're busy. It's understandable of them that cleaning the plastic would stay in there. So I think there should be more quantities of dustbin, quantities of dustbin.

    Band 5-6

    the time well one month ago I was traveled to one of the hill station that is nearby my home it was 200 kilometers from my home so I had wake up early in the morning and to travel to that hill station after going that the one of the spot I saw there are many plastic waste was present there this is because of many public travel to that specific place for enjoying their movement and enjoy their Sunday so I had seen there is very plastic waste like water bottle wafers and many other plastic waste I had seen and I had called to that specific agency which clean I'd as give him the knowledge that why the people are throwing so much waste so I'd make one social media platform the at that platform I had uploaded a one photo after that I had completed to the nearby station so after that they had cleaned all the thing although but people should understand why they are doing so and why they are they are throwing all the paper bags and other things they should store in their car or in their bag so that after going to any specific hotel or any other things you can throw it because we will directly harm to nature the nature will directly harm to us because we in nowadays we are saying that there is a lots of things going on in earth like earthquake and different deforestation are directly affected to the human body in a conclusion people should understand that throwing the garbage anywhere or destroying the natural habits is directly affecting to them so I request you to those people that they should carry a one carry bag to store their wastage material and throw afterwards whenever they get any garbage or garbage stone

    Band 5-6

    I saw the plastic waste at city outskirt of Hyderabad. They bring the waste material from the city to the outskirt and they burn all the plastic and they are spoiling the environment. Instead of doing that they can just dig a hole and bury the plastic in the digging well so that plastic can't harm the environment and which is after some years the plastic might melt in the land and it will be completely. And even though there are many ways where they can recycle the plastic and they can use for some of the products there is more there are many many many items where they can do with recycled plastic but I don't know why they are making it. Why they are burying the plastic and disturbing the environment. When you disturb the environment it will reflect you very soon by maybe in Delhi by using more fuel vehicles the air is almost polluted.

    Band 5-6

    I think in my country there is a lots of waste everywhere like around the corner of the street, in roads and here I would like to talk about the place where I last saw the waste and it would be around one month ago I was going to my sister house with the scooter and in my way there is a wedding hall and beside the wedding hall there is a water water water pond and there is a lots of plastics like plastic glass and plates with spoon and when I when I saw it and I was like what is this this is not right to right thing then and it and I asked why is there is lots of plastic then one person talk about this and say there was a party last week and that's why there is a lots of waste and I think this is not right to do for this is very bad for my

    Band 5-6

    Well, as I previously told you that I am from Chidat Nagar and in my opinion I say that Chidat Nagar is very polluted and has plastic waste because there are a lot of rivers and all the rivers are filled with plastics and other wastes. People always dump their food waste and plastic waste in the river because of lack of cleaning and pollution. People always throw their waste on the river. When I was in class 10, I see a river called Pasupati river and it is in Chidat Nagar and I see there are a lot of plastic waste and other dumping waste like food and other plastics and they all are in rivers and they are flowing on the surface of the river everywhere.

    Band 5-6

    Last month, I go to Dehradun in a train journey, so I went to Dehradun, travelled in train and I start to point Anand and second point Ahmedabad. So Ahmedabad railway station is a big railway station, but there are many dirty and I sit in a railway station platform, then I see inside, so dustbin is a fully out of full and then plastic is waste and in this side, so I get up and I go to that dustbin and plastic bottle is collect and then in dustbin, I feel is very bad and in area is very dirty.
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