Dimension
The dimension of marine litter from plastics
Oceans as garbage dump
Whether on the North Sea or on beaches away from civilization, plastic waste can be found all over the world and has even reached the polar regions. On the beaches, we perceive only a fraction of the garbage drifting into the oceans or lying on the seabed. It is estimated that there are now between 100 and 142 million tons of garbage in the oceans. Approximately 8 million tons are added annually - other estimates even assume 10 million tons annually. This would correspond to the contents of a 20-ton truck that is emptied into the sea every minute. Only about 15% are washed up on beaches, more than two-thirds of the waste goes to the bottom of the sea (UBA). By 2050, plastic waste in the sea could weigh more than all schools of fish put together, warn the authors of a study conducted by the World Economic Forum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation with the support of McKinsey.
Plastic waste in Germany
According to the German Environment Agengy - Umweltbundesamt, almost 5.92 million tonnes of plastic waste were generated in Germany in 2015. Per capita, 37 kg of plastic waste were produced, which has doubled in the last 10 years. Polyethylene (PE) accounted for 2.29 million tonnes or 38.7 % of the total amount of waste, polypropylene (PP) for 0.99 million tonnes or 16.8 % and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for 0.67 million tonnes or 11.3 %. UBA points out that 99% of plastic waste is recycled. It should be noted that in 2016 Germany alone shipped 560,000 tonnes of plastic waste to the People's Republic of China (Source Tagesschau, 04.01.18).
Plastics industry in Europe
Background information on the importance of the plastics industry in Europe and on the use of the various types of plastics can be found at Plastics Europe.