AEPW supports and investigates the informal waste sector in Africa
In South Africa, informal waste reclaimers make an important contribution to waste management. The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) has supported the project partner African Reclaimers Organisation (ARO) in a project in which new collection and sorting structures were set up and in which the workers from the informal sector were integrated. What effects – also on the so-called waste-pickers – the introduction of an obligatory deposit system for disposable beverage bottles would have in South Africa is also to be clarified in a study co-financed by the AEPW.
Read more … AEPW supports and investigates the informal waste sector in Africa
"Plastic World" exhibition in the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt
Plastic as an art form: From the end of June to the beginning of October, the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt dedicated a large thematic exhibition to the eventful history of plastic in the visual arts. The PLASTIC WORLD exhibition showed objects, assemblages, installations, films and documentation from nearly seven decades. More than 100 works from around 50 international artists were on show, including Christo, Niki de Saint Phalle and Tue Greenfort, who is involved with the discovery of a fungus in the Amazon region that can metabolise polyurethane.
Read more … "Plastic World" exhibition in the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt
Updated model on discharge pathways
In 2013, Conversio Market & Strategy GmbH, on BKV's behalf and supported by German and Austrian plastics industry associations, developed a new calculation model to estimate the amounts of improperly disposed-of plastic waste entering the oceans entitled "From Land to Sea - Model for the documentation of land-sourced plastic litter". This methodological approach, recognised in expert circles, to systematically record, structure and quantitatively assess the most important discharge pathways and sources of improperly disposed-of plastics into the oceans, has now been updated and is available in its 5th version.
Bacteria eat and digest plastic in the sea
Researchers from the Netherlands at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) undertook a search of so-called "missing plastic", and found a possible answer in laboratory experiments: UV light from the sun breaks down the waste into tiny particles, which in turn are ingested and then metabolised by bacteria. With these research findings, the scientists provide evidence that bacteria do indeed digest plastic into CO2 and other molecules.
Research team discovers speed enzyme for the degradation of PET
Researchers at the University of Leipzig have discovered an enzyme that breaks down PET in record time. It has been known for some time that some enzymes, so-called polyester-cleaving hydrolases, can also degrade PET. But until now, the degradation process took too long to be of interest for commercial use. The research team has now discovered a "candidate" with which, for example, PET packaging from the supermarket should be completely degradable in less than a day.
Read more … Research team discovers speed enzyme for the degradation of PET
Plastic waste in the Arctic stems from all over the world
In a citizen science project, participants of Arctic trips collected litter on the beaches of Spitzbergen for a scientific survey. The origin and composition of the collected plastic debris were analysed by the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research. According to the study, published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, one third of the clearly identifiable plastic litter comes from Europe and some of it also from Germany.
Read more … Plastic waste in the Arctic stems from all over the world
UN agrees on global high seas treaty
During an intergovernmental conference in New York at the beginning of March, the international community agreed on a new treaty to protect the world's oceans. For the first time, binding rules for marine areas beyond national jurisdiction are to be made possible: Marine protected areas, environmental impact assessments and other measures are to better protect threatened species and habitats in the future. During the negotiations, Germany, together with the EU, had pushed for an ambitious treaty.
APEC guideline: Avoiding plastics in the environment through organised waste management
The Oceans and Fisheries Working Group (OFWG) of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) has published a guide to provide smaller cities and municipalities in the Asia-Pacific economic region with the knowledge to set up reliable waste collection systems to help reduce the land-sourced discharge of waste into the oceans. Using successful projects, the guide aims to show how waste can be collected and recycled at source very efficiently and cost-effectively using technologically simple means. WWF, the World Wide Fund for Nature, was also involved in an exemplary pilot project in the Vietnamese city of Tan An.
Read more … APEC guideline: Avoiding plastics in the environment through organised waste management
Interview: “Stop discharges directly at source”
Dr. Bernhard Bauske has been active in the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Germany since 1993 and has been Project Coordinator for "Marine Litter" in the Marine Conservation department since 2017. His work focuses on coordinating projects to reduce plastic waste, improving waste management systems and packaging design. Before joining WWF, the biologist completed his doctorate at the Institute of Soil Science in Hamburg.
EU funds "SeaClear2.0" project for waste disposal in the sea
The EU is contributing around eight million euros to the "SeaClear2.0" project, with which a group of European scientists aims to combat marine pollution among other things with the help of an autonomous robot system. The four-year project will involve three major pilot tests in the Mediterranean Sea before the autonomous system is deployed.
Read more … EU funds "SeaClear2.0" project for waste disposal in the sea