Consumer behaviour

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.

In order to legitimise political decisions on the problem of plastic emissions into the environment, it is necessary to formulate a quantitative emission target. The budget approach for plastic emissions was developed within the framework of this project. The research work was guided by the following questions: What amount of plastics in the environment is still acceptable?

Consumers buying products made of or wrapped in plastic play a decisive role in plastic consumption in Germany. A complete avoidance of plastic in everyday life, while unlikely to occur in full, would only be possible with extremely high restrictions. Moreover, many consumers are not aware of how much plastic is put into circulation or into the environment by buying a product.