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Thematic Area GREEN ECONOMY

The private sector has a multitude of approaches to reduce the entry of plastics into the environment. There is potential along the entire value chain, from polymer design and production through the use phase and disposal/recycling to collection and use of floating sea trash as a basis for new products.

http://bmbf-plastik.de/en/topics

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Thematic Area CONSUMPTION

From a social-ecological perspective, the focus on plastics – aside from production and commercial handling – should be on consumption. This involves e.g. changing the unencumbered use of plastics, and testing the acceptance of plastic alternatives.

http://bmbf-plastik.de/en/topics

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Thematic Area RECYCLING

A circular economy as well as recycling contribute significantly to avoidance of plastics’ departure from the economic value chain into the environment and thereby into marine ecosystems. However, previous research on microplastics has shown that recycling as a whole should be differentiated.

http://bmbf-plastik.de/en/topics

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Thematic Area FRESHWATER SYSTEMS

Research on plastics in freshwater systems features only few isolated investigations; an overall understanding of plastics’ points of entry, their spread, and the resulting effects on aquatic biology (including risk analysis for humans) does not yet exist.

http://bmbf-plastik.de/en/topics

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Thematic Area SALTWATER ECOSYSTEMS

Oceans end up as the constant and central “sink” of the plastics lifecycle. Although research has been done on (micro-) plastics in marine systems, the state of knowledge on oceans is still patchy. The projects in this area of the “Plastic in Environment” research focus will try to narrow these knowledge gaps.

http://bmbf-plastik.de/en/topics

Plastic Atlas 2019: Facts and figures about the world of synthetic polmers

Plastics have become an indispensable part of our everyday lives. Plastic products make a lot of things easier, but they also endanger our health and flood our planet with garbage. The Plastic Atlas offers data and facts about a world full of plastics. In 19 chapters, it sheds light on very different aspects of plastics, each of which is illustrated with infographics.

Discussion Paper: Plastic packaging in the food industry

When buying food, more and more consumers want to avoid plastic packaging. However, it is often difficult to find products without plastic packaging. Often, there is a lack of alternatives or consumers lack knowledge about the most ecological packaging. In addition, many consumers would have to change their shopping behavior completely and, for example, would need to go shopping more frequently, because unpacked fresh goods are not that durable. This is often incompatible with everyday life.

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Shaping EU Plastic Policies: The Role of Public Health vs. Environmental Arguments

This article by Ecologic Institute's Linda Mederake and Doris Knoblauch uses a structuring qualitative content analysis to investigate the parliamentary debates of two recently adopted plastic policies in the EU – namely the EU Plastics Strategy and the Single-Use Plastics Directive – and assess the relevance of public health and environmental arguments for the EU debate.

Microplastics in Textiles: Adressing the Challenges for Politics, Industry and Research

10 December 2019

Brussels, Belgium

On 10 December 2019, BSI, FESI - and WWF Germany are organising a joint policy event in Brussels, where first results of the TextileMission project will be presented by its partner organisations.

The Transnational Governance of Plastics

In International Relations, little research exists that examines the specific actors, structures and processes involved in the diverse regulatory activities regarding plastics. This paper provides a framework for such an analysis.