In order to counteract the problem of the constantly growing volume of packaging in Germany (Schüler, 2019), the Federal Government has promoted the strategy of waste avoidance over other strategies such as reuse, recycling and recovery or disposal strategies of packaging waste in the waste hierarchy of the Circular Economy Act.
Packaging volumes are continuously increasing in Germany. Plastic packaging, with its short lifespan and low global recycling rates, contributes to the accumulation of macro and micro plastics in the environment. Merely switching to glass and cardboard packaging does not appear to be an appropriate solution, as LCA studies suggest.
This article from the German magazine „masche“ portraits the joint project VerPlaPoS. The project examines consumer’s behavior concerning plastics and avoidance strategies at the point of sale.
This background paper was developed within the framework of the Innoredux joint research project and describes which materials shape the volume of packaging and packaging waste in Germany. Moreover, the paper outlines the most important German and European legal regulations relating to packaging in the context of the project.
