Plastics and the Environment—Current Status and Challenges in Germany and Australia

authored by

Frederik R. Wurm, Sebastian Spierling, Hans Josef Endres, Leonie Barner

Abstract

Polymers and plastics play a very important part in the modern world and contribute to people's wellbeing and comfort. However, products made of them are contributing to land- and marine-based environmental pollution due to littering and other ways of emission, and therefore threaten ecosystems worldwide. However, waste management and responses by governments and the consumer differ strongly from country to country. The current article provides an overview of several important aspects of polymer waste and plastic pollution as well as describes selected strategies to mitigate these using examples from Germany and Australia, and therefore aims to contribute to the resolution of the ever-increasing problem of unsustainable plastic consumption, disposal, and pollution.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Plastics and Circular Economy

External Organisation(s)

University of Twente
Queensland University of Technology

Type

Article

Journal

Macromolecular Rapid Communications

Volume

41

ISSN

1022-1336

Publication date

22.09.2020

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Polymers and Plastics, Organic Chemistry, Materials Chemistry

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 14 - Life Below Water, SDG 15 - Life on Land

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202000351 (Access: Closed)
https://research.utwente.nl/en/publications/f9c02e16-36cb-4537-a0a6-4644bfab15a9 (Access: Open)