Plastic

We live in a world full of plastic - Plastic has become pervasive in our daily lives. It is in our food and drinking water, in our clothing and cosmetics, in our consumer articles and vehicles. But we are just beginning to understand the full extent of how plastic pollutes and contaminates our environment and bodies. Who is responsible and what are the effects on humans and nature? What are the solutions?  In order to change course we need a sound understanding of the players, the extent and the implications of the plastic crisis. Our plastics dossier is a contribution to this cause.

Plastic Atlas | Book for Children | Infohub | Articles | Films | Publications

The Plastic Atlas has the hard facts, data and figures to prove that the story of plastic that industry is telling us is a myth. We need urgent and drastic reductions in plastic production and consumption and regulation at the local, national and global level that tackle plastic pollution at the source.

Book about Plastic

Specifically developed and designed for a young international audience, the digital book "Unpacked! Plastic, Waste, & Me" answers 70 questions about plastic in colorful infographics and six true stories. 

Our Info Hub Plastic

Our curated information hub provides well-researched publications, websites, and media on various aspects of the plastic crisis. For instance, delve deeply into the impact of plastic on the climate, explore how microplastic is polluting the oceans or find out how the plastic industry can be stopped. 

Films on Plastic

The Plastic Atlas: Facts & Figures about the World of Synthetic Polymers - Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung

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Zero Waste city: How Kiel is cutting down on trash - Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung

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This is how the Delaperrière family goes shopping. By buying this way, they gener-ate very little waste. The family used to throw out two large bags of trash a week. That has gone down to one small bag a month.

Brand Audit: holding plastic polluters accountable - Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung

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Marjun and Anne are paying for their canoe trip in an unusual way – with rubbish. Today is World Cleanup Day, and here in Copenhagen, they are collecting rubbish. The firm that rents out the canoes is one of over 100 companies that are supporting the cleanup effort. 

Plastic Atlas: The recycling myth - Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung

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Kai Schächtele: "We separate our rubbish and throw it into the right bins, and we think, ok, a disposable coffee cup is not the best, but if we dispose of it properly, we’ve done everything right – after all, it will be recycled. But in fact we are kidding ourselves, because a lot of the rubbish we generate doesn’t stay here but ends up somewhere else in the world."

More Articles on Plastic

Publications on Plastic
Combatting Global Plastic Pollution Cover Mit Grafik

Combatting Global Plastic Pollution

Infobrief
A critical look at the entire plastics cycle is also of crucial importance from a feminist perspective, because the plastic problem cannot simply be reduced to consumer use patterns or to harmful microplastics in cosmetic products. On the contrary, every stage of the plastics cycle reflects different gender-specific experiences and exposures.
Plastic Crisis Leporello short

Ways out of the plastic crisis:

Demand paper
Stop flooding the world with plastic! For the first time in Germany, major civil society actors have come together in an alliance to resolve the plastics crisis and have formulated 15 demands for the German government to act on.

Plastic & health: The hidden costs of a plastic planet

In a joint effort, a group of authors from civil society and academia point out that the impacts that plastic and the chemicals in it have on our bodies need to be assessed in the full lifecylce of this enduring an ubiquitous material. You can read the executive summary of their study here.

Stopping Global Plastic Pollution

The massive use of plastics has created an enormous global problem with environmental, economic, social, and health repercussions. The only viable solution to the problem would therefore be to stop plastic waste from entering the oceans in the first place. The authors of this paper propose to launch negotiations on a plastics convention and begin to end this irresponsible disaster.