Challenge

Since July, EU member states have been obliged to implement the Single-Use-Plastics Directive (SUPD) of the European Union. This means, among other things, that packaging must indicate that plastic is used in the product in question. We examined the SUPD in more detail and have answered some of the most frequently raised questions for you.

"90 percent less plastic waste in the world's oceans by 2040" is the ambitious goal that Dutchman Boyan Slat and his team want to achieve as part of one of the largest ocean cleanup projects under the name "The Ocean Clean Up." Using a sophisticated collection system developed with the help of state-of-the-art technologies, the project not only collects free-floating trash in the oceans, but also tackles the roots of the problem directly, namely at the river mouths into the sea.

The topic of "microplastics" is a familiar one to some - at the latest after studies have established that it can already be found in our organs. Many people are also aware that our oceans are suffering massively from microplastic pollution. However, what researcher Katsiaryna Pabortsava and researcher Richard Lampitt have discovered in the course of their investigations of the entire Atlantic exceeds the worst expectations.

It is widely known that our planet is suffering from increasing environmental pollution. Plastic waste in particular plays a not inconsiderable role in this. But contrary to what is often thought, packaging and bottles are not the only culprits. Hidden plastic in hygiene products such as feminine hygiene products and wet wipes accounts for a large part of the environmental impact, according to a study conducted in 2019.

Plastic has long since conquered all areas of our everyday lives and can be found in numerous household products, from cosmetics and hygiene products to food.

"Biodegradable" - These words are currently on everyone's lips, but what do they mean exactly? And why is biodegradability currently playing such a major role in society?

Canal trips are part of the standard program for tourists in Amsterdam. But now environmentally conscious people can do something good for the environment at the same time with the NGO "Plastic Whale" during a boat trip through the city - collect trash.

Microplastics are dispersed like dust through the air and are also deposited in arable soils. There is now 20 times more microplastic than in the oceans. However, the consequences for humans are still unexplored.

The plastic atlas illustrates in a shocking way how much our planet is riddled with packaging waste.

Microplastics have long entered the stomach of almost every marine mammal through the food chain. Researchers in the United Kingdom examined 50 dolphins, seals and whales that washed up on the British coast. Almost every animal had microplastics in it.

Everyday hygiene articles such as wet wipes often consist of different materials and therefore cannot be recycled by type. But there are more and more environmentally friendly alternatives, for example the wood-based VEOCEL™ fibres, because they are 100 percent biodegradable.

The German Federal Environment Agency examined 25,000 children to determine whether residues of plastic products were found in their bodies. The shocking result: almost all of the children between the ages of three and 17 examined had residues in their urine.

Easy to care for, inexpensive and elastic - polyester is one of the most popular and widely used materials in the textile, cosmetics and care industries.

Along with plastic bottles, wet wipes are one of the most frequent causes of environmental pollution on coasts and in the sea.

„If we don’t do something about it, we will have more plastic than fish in our oceans in the year 2025“, Global 2000, an environmental organisation, warns us.