Rainwater

The project aimed to make a significant, transdisciplinary contribution to applied research on the prevention of plastic discharges into water bodies via drainage systems from a behavioural and environmental economics perspective.

In PLAWES, the modelling system of the German national park Weser-Wadden Sea was the first large European river basin that was investigated in detail regarding its microplastic pollution.

The common element of all investigations in PLASTRAT was the development of solution strategies for sustainable limitation of the spread of plastic residues in the aquatic environment on technical, environmental, scientific and social-ecological levels. The objective consisted of developing a multi-criteria evaluation approach for the environmental compatibility of different types of plastics.

Plastics in the environment are an increasingly serious challenge. As macroplastics deteriorate, such as through tire abrasion, the resulting microplastics can enter the aquatic environment through a variety of entry points. As vehicle traffic increases, there is an inevitable increase in microplastics from worn tires ending up in the environment.