In this factsheet, joint project KuWert shows how plastic recycling can be profitable. The research team developed a floating recycling platform, mobile and independent of local structures. The system was tested in coastal cities in West Africa, where a lot of plastic ends up in the sea.
The first factsheet of the research focus is dealing with the question of how consumers can save plastic when buying clothes. It is often difficult to know how much plastic is produced along the textile value chain, before a product arrives in the store.
Numerous one- to two-person households, an increase in mail-order business as well as the popular "to-go" culture are causing a steady rise in the consumption of plastic packaging in Germany. While approximately 1.8 million tons of plastic were produced per year in 2000, this figure had already risen to 3.1 million tons by 2016.
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.
