| © Kati Bachnik

Plastic Regulation – Who is responsible?

Event: Workshop
Date: 7 September 2019
Location: Berlin, Germany
Speaker: Linda Mederake

There are numerous regulatory approaches for handling plastic products and plastic waste in various areas such as waste and recycling policy, marine protection or chemicals policy. During the workshop, Linda Mederake gave an insight into existing plastic regulations and initiatives at the international, European and national levels to reduce the amount of plastics entering the environment. She critically discussed what stages in the life cycle of plastics are targeted by political solutions and she also highlighted regulatory gaps.

Subsequently, small groups discussed individual aspects of the issue, among them: Would an international plastics convention be desirable and what specific opportunities would it offer? What are the possibilities for avoiding plastics at the municipal level? How strong is the impact of consumer choices?

The workshop took place as part of the annual conference of former scholarship holders of the Heinrich Böll Foundation on 7 September 2019 in Berlin.

Existing regulatory approaches lack quantified objectives and targets, the effectiveness of agreements is poorly monitored and not all aspects of the plastic problem are sufficiently covered at present.

Key Messages of the BMBF Research Focus "Plastics in the Environment"

Short version

Year 2022

Publication:Brochure

The publication summarizes the key messages from all 20 joint research projects and the seven cross-cutting topics of the German research focus "Plastics in the Environment". Structured by main topics, the central results are presented in order to derive recommendations for various addressees. More than 70 researchers and practitioners from across the research focus have jointly co-authored the key messages.

Kernbotschaften des BMBF-Forschungsschwerpunkts "Plastik in der Umwelt – Quellen · Senken · Lösungsansätze"

Year 2022

Publication:Article

The emission of plastics into the environment is growing worldwide. Since existing regulations are not sufficient to curb the problem, the ever-increasing plastic production and use must be reduced overall. A systemic approach is needed that holds all actors responsible who produce, use, recycle, dispose and trade in plastic products and packaging. Policymakers must drive forward the necessary paradigm shift and facilitate a debate on sufficiency in society as a whole.

Wege zum nachhaltigen Umgang mit Kunststoffen

Kernbotschaften sozialwissenschaftlicher Forschung

Year 2022

Publication:Fact Sheet

In the framework of the scientific accompanying research (PlastikNet) of the research focus "Plastics in the Environment – Sources • Sinks • Solutions" (Plastik in der Umwelt – Quellen • Senken • Lösungsansätze) Ecologic Institute coordinates 20 joint research projects, which deal with plastics in the environment funded by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF). This fact sheet series condenses the joint research project findings and presents them consistently in the project design.

Plastics in the Environment – Sources • Sinks • Solutions" (PlastikNet) – Fact sheet series

Year 2021 - 2022

Publication:Conference Paper

Cover conference proceedings Plastik in der Umwelt

Plastic pollution in the environment is a global problem with unforeseeable ecological consequences. Despite numerous activities and approaches, there are only a few reliable findings on the input and distribution pathways and the effects on humans and animals. In order to close these knowledge gaps, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research established the major research focus "Plastics in the Environment - Sources - Sinks - Solutions" in summer 2017 and funded 20 innovative collaborative projects. The aim of the research was to obtain an overall picture of the environmental impact of plastics along their entire life cycle, from production and use to disposal. The aim is also to identify opportunities for improvement as well as options for action, thus creating the scientific basis for holistic strategies and measures. This conference proceedings present the research of the joint projects and work results in the cross-sectional topics.

Plastik in der Umwelt – Conference Proceedings of the Final Conference

Year 2021

Publication:Book

The topic of plastic in the environment is particularly easy for children to understand because plastic products and waste are everywhere. The PIXI book "Flupp aus der Plastikflasche" (Flupp in the plastic bottle), which was created as part of the BMBF's research focus "Plastics in the Environment", teaches children about precisely this topic.

Flupp aus der Plastikflasche

Year 2022

Publication:Book

Plastic waste is omnipresent, the pollution in the environment easily recognizable. This makes the issue relevant even for the youngest children. This is why the Ecologic Institute, within the research focus "Plastics in the Environment", together with the AOK Bundesverband, Stiftung Lesen and Carlsen K – the children's media agency of Carlsen Verlag – has developed an exclusive "Lesemaus" edition especially for day-care centres.

Die Schatzsuche

Lesemaus

Year 2022

Publication:Infographic

Graphical illustration of potential impacts of microplastics in the environment.

Whether or not microplastics have harmful effects on plants and animals has not yet been conclusively established. The different properties of microplastics determine whether and how the microplastics are absorbed by living organisms and whether they are harmful to them. Compared to other pollutants in the environment (e.g. pesticides), microplastics do not have a uniform effect on living organisms. In addition, the effects of microplastics often cannot be distinguished from the harmful effects of other particles and substances found in the environment.

Are Microplastics Harmful?

The ecotoxicological assessment of microplastics in the environment is a complex task

Year 2022

Publication:Article

The article reflects on the 59th Tutzing Symposion entitled "Polymers for a better life and circular economy" that took place as an online event in October 2021. Based on the presentations at the symposium, the contribution provides an overview of current debates on the circular plastics economy, as well as insights into existing political regulations, present challenges, and possible future developments with regard to this major societal project.

Eine Kreislaufwirtschaft für Kunststoffe – Aktuelle Diskussionen, Trends und politische Herausforderungen

Year 2022

Organizer: Ehemalige Stipendiat*innen der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung e.V., Germany

Ecologic Institute, Germany
Speaker: Linda Mederake
Date: 7 September 2019
Location: Berlin, Germany
Language: German
Project: Scientific Coordination of Research Projects on "Plastics in the Environment – Sources • Sinks • Solutions" (PlastikNet)
Project ID: 2295
Keywords: Consumer Policy

Governance

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Water

Plastics

Events

plastics, plastic regulation, governance, consumer policy

Further Links

Website of the research focus "Plastics in the Environment"

ProjectScientific Coordination of Research Projects on "Plastics in the Environment – Sources • Sinks • Solutions" (PlastikNet)

| Fotolia © Christian Schulz

Scientific Coordination of Research Projects on "Plastics in the Environment – Sources • Sinks • Solutions" (PlastikNet)

Duration: Sep 2017 - Aug 2022
Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany

Project"No more Plastics in the Oceans": Designing a legally binding global plastic convention

Plastic pollution of the world's oceans is a quickly growing environmental problem. A number of international instruments and treaties are trying to address the problem, but the growing amount of plastic waste that is polluting our seas shows these are insufficient. On... Read more

"No more Plastics in the Oceans": Designing a legally binding global plastic convention

Duration: Sep - Dec 2018
Funding: World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF), International

PublicationArticleRegulation: Solutions at the Wrong End.

Heinrich Boell Foundation

There are numerous regulatory approaches at international, regional and national level regarding the handling of plastic products and plastic waste. What they all have in common is their limited effectiveness. In their contribution, Linda Mederake, Stephan Gürtler and... Read more

Mederake, Linda; Gürtler, Stephan; Knoblauch, Doris (2019): Regulation: Solutions at the Wrong End. In: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung und BUND – Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (Eds.): Plastic Atlas 2019. Facts and figures about the world of synthetic polymers. Berlin.

PresentationLectureThe Governance of Plastics

Präsentation "Plastik-Governance"

On 30 November 2018, Linda Mederake, Junior Researcher at Ecologic Institute, presented the Institute's activities in the field of plastics governance to a group of students from the International Degree Program Political Management (B.A.) at Hochschule Bremen, City... Read more

Lecture:The Governance of Plastics

Date: 30 November 2018
Location: Ecologic Institute, Berlin, Germany

PresentationLectureTowards a Global Plastics Convention

Präsentation "Towards a Global Plastics Convention"

At Scotland's International Marine Conference 2019, Ecologic Institute's Linda Mederake presented results from the study "No more Plastics in the Ocean – Gaps in Global Plastic Governance and Options for a Legally Binding Agreement to Eliminate Marine Plastic Pollution"... Read more

Lecture:Towards a Global Plastics Convention

Date: 21 February 2019
Location: Glasgow, United Kingdom

PublicationPosterPlastics in the Environment: Social Science Research – Poster Series

How is a topic such as microplastics socially problematised? How can consumers use plastics more sustainably? And what role do the interests and perceptions of different actors play in international plastics regulation? These and other questions are posed by social... Read more

Ecologic Institute 2019: Plastik in der Umwelt: Sozialwissenschaftliche Forschung. Überblick über Forschungsgegenstände, Ergebnisarten und Zielgruppen der Projekte mit sozialwissenschaftlichem Anteil im BMBF-Forschungsschwerpunkt "Plastik in der Umwelt". PlastikNet Poster Series. Poster.