boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - 12 brief lessons on plastic and the planet
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - The most important types of plastics were invented between 1850 and 1950. They have been refined, often by mixing them with toxic additives.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - in 2015, 407 million tonnes of plastics were produced worldwide. In theory, all should be recycled. Reality is rather different.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - Not all plastic is created equal. Some items have a lifetime measured in decades. But packaging makes up the largest share and typically has a very short useful life.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - In 2019, along with 31 other companies, Coca-Cola published its plastic figures for the first time. The data show how much waste is generated by relatively few firms.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - Luxembourg, Ireland and Estonia are Europe’s leaders in chucking out plastic packaging. Good to see: the downward trend from 2015 to 2016.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - Single-use plastics have become an icon of the global plastic crisis. Their production is limited to a few regions of the world.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - Worldwide, over 400 million tonnes of plastics are produced each year. Packaging accounts for more than a third of all plastics produced.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - Since 2000, more plastics have been produced than in the 50 years before. The output of plastics continues to explode.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - Many of the chemicals in plastic have an effect on human health. The consequences may be both serious and long-term.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - Even if you try to avoid coming into contact with plastics, you will still be exposed to them. The body has no mechanism to protect itself.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - The production of a modern sanitary pad is not possible without using fossil raw materials and plastics.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - A woman who uses disposable menstruation products comes into contact with hazardous plastics for nearly four decades.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - Patents for feminine hygiene products have jumped sharply since the end of the 1990s. One reason is the mass availability of cheap plastics.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - How much plastic ends up in the soil is little researched. But soil contamination is thought to be between four and 23 times higher than in the sea.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - Bottled water is marketed as a healthy alternative to tapwater. Bottlers have to list the mineral contents in detail. Microplastic does not appear as an ingredient.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - Microplastic particles that sewage-treatment plants cannot separate out are sprayed onto fields with the residual sludge commonly used as a fertilizer.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - Plastics are used in the textile industry not just in the production process, but also to protect items during distribution and marketing.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - The textile sector has less obvious effects on the climate than the car industry. But producing polyester generates a broad plume of greenhouse gases.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - In the early 2000s, Sardinians separated little of their waste. Public awareness and waste- collection practices have since changed radically.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - Plastic bottles, straws and bags are easy to spot. But the trash on beaches also includes less-visible garbage such as cigarette butts or cotton bud sticks.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - Transport, energy and farming are the three sectors most often blamed for climate change. The emissions caused by plastics production are often forgotten.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - The oceans absorb a quarter of anthropogenic greenhouse emissions. Pollution by microplastics may put the biological carbon pump at risk. More research is needed.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - Cheap fracked gas from the United States is flooding the market and fueling the plastic crisis around the world.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - As they hunt, many birds cannot distinguish between a fish and a glistening piece of plastic floating in the water.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - Only a small share of plastic trash stays on the sea surface. The vast majority is either washed ashore or sinks: out of sight, out of mind.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - The Great Pacific Garbage Patch floats off the coast of California. Here, currents bring together different types of plastic trash from across the world.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - In the USA, progressive states and cities aim to restrict the use of plastic bags. Industry lobbyists are working with conservative states to prevent such initiatives.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - Ineos was founded in 1998 by the chemical engineer, Jim Ratcliffe, one of the richest men in Britain. He plans to expand plastics production in Europe.
boellstiftung: Plastic Atlas - Just a few major corporations produce most of the world’s plastics. Some are household names; others are far less well-known.