This is how your products protect the environment, despite the use of plastic.
The problem with plastic
Packaging
used devices
...plastic everywhere...
How well are you informed?
Plastic quiz
(Duration ca. 1 minute)
I am already an expert
continue to plastic problem
The problem is not as much plastic itself
- it´s plastic pollution -
By loading the video, you accept the privacy policy of YouTube.
Learn more
Source: Youtube, cheeseandjamsandwich
Why not simply
avoid plastic?
Plastic saves a lot of CO2
Especially in transportation and logistics, plastic saves a significant amount of CO2 equivalent due to its lightweight.
Whether it's plastic parts of a passenger train, yogurt cups, or truck tarp, replacing this plastic would mean much more weight and therefore emissions.
There are still few alternatives
For many products or packaging made of plastic, there are still no viable alternatives today. The mechanical properties of plastics are very diverse, and some cannot be replaced by any other material.
Examples include chemical resistance, sterility, and impermeability. Many legal requirements for food packaging can only be met with plastic.
Avoidance does not help against existing pollution
Living a zero waste life is exemplary, conserves resources, and protects the environment.
Compensating for waste reduction also allows you to have an impact on the already existing environmental catastrophe.
General problems
of plastic waste
Resource consumption
Today, almost everything is packaged.
However, resource efficiency is often not taken into account, as larger packaging suggests more content.
Low honest recycling rates
Incineration, and waste trading are called "recycling" in Europe.
Poor packaging and product design, too many different types of plastics, and contamination drive up recycling costs. As a result, the majority of plastic waste is incinerated rather than processed.
Health risks
Specifically through plastic fibers emitted by textiles and microplastics in the food chain, we are already ingesting large amounts of microplastics in our bodies today.
Environmental pollution
In the DACH region, the collection rate of waste is very high. However, there is still too much litter ending up on the roadside or remaining at the lakeside.
This endangers animals, and despite the millions spent on cleaning efforts, not every piece can be recovered from nature again.
The problem of waste
in developing countries
Lack of infrastructure
In many poor regions, there is no waste management system for the disposal of garbage. As a result, the waste of many people is not collected. They have no way to properly dispose of their garbage.
Therefore, the waste often ends up in nature.
Burning at low temperatures
Setting the trash on fire is often the only way to dispose of it.
However, the temperatures are not sufficient for clean combustion.
Open burning causes a thousand times more damage to the environment than incineration. Dioxins, soot, and dust are also hazardous to human and animal health.
Criminal recycling businesses
Illegal buyers promise to recycle waste from industrialized countries. However, in many cases, this does not happen and the waste ends up in illegal landfills that nobody takes care of.
Disposal in nature
Due to the lack of disposal options and additional waste imports, some regions are drowning in garbage.
Flooding and wind carry lightweight debris into the sea. Animals mistake plastic for food or get entangled in the trash. This leads to millions of animals dying from plastic waste.
Plastic in the food chain
This is how the poison ends up on our table
It has long been proven that plastic enters our food chain through animals and plants. Microplastics are increasingly being detected in fish. Even the plants we eat can absorb toxic substances from plastics.
Softeners and other synthetic substances
The research on the effects of these substances on our organism is far from complete. It is certain that many softeners in plastics resemble our body's own hormones. Therefore, these hormonally active substances disrupt our complex hormone balance and can cause diseases.
What about bio-plastics?
Biological raw material
Today's bioplastics, which are made from organic materials such as corn and potatoes, often compete with food production.
Due to the additional demand for agricultural land, biologically produced plastic threatens habitats that are still untouched today - for example, the already highly endangered rainforest.
Biodegradable
Plastics that are certified according to DIN EN 13432 (packaging) or 14995 are only biodegradable under controlled conditions (composting). Since they have long decay times in nature, they do not solve the problems of environmental pollution.
Even industrial composting facilities have difficulties maintaining these controlled conditions consistently. This leads to many facilities incinerating biodegradable plastics.
We enable your impact