Germany

Specific Measures:
■ Use of recycled materials
Brief description:

• A mandatory minimum use of recyclates for certain single-use plastic beverage bottles from 2025 (based on EU Single use plastics Directive EU 2019/904)

Brief description:
As the EU REACH restriction on microplastics came into force in 2023, no additional restriction is in place.

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■ Regulatory Measures (ex: production ban, Ban on use..etc)
Brief description:
Since 1.1.2022 the use of plastic bags with a thickness between 15- 50 micrometers is forbidden by the Packaging Act.

Bans and regulations according EU Single use Plastics Directive EU 2019/904

An obligation to offer reusable packaging alternatives for single-use plastic food packaging for take-away food and single-use beverage cups since 2023
An extension of the compulsory deposit to almost all single-use plastic beverage bottles and all beverage cans since 2022

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Specific Measures:

Specific Measures:
See in particular under 2.1 and 2.2 above

Specific Measures:
An obligation to offer reusable packaging alternatives for single-use plastic food packaging for take-away food and single-use beverage cups

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Clean-up activities organized by municipalities, NGOs, authorities and other initiatives are taking place on beaches, on riverbanks and also inland. Furthermore, many communities are taking part on the International Coastal Cleanup Day happening each year in autumn. Many of these activities can be found in the database of activities of the members of the national Round Table on Marine Litter (https://www.muell-im-meer.de/de/aktivitaeten).
Within the network of the Round Table assisting documents have been produced such as the report: “Harmonized protocols for beach litter on the basis of the Joint List of Litter Categories” and “Tips for the performance of environmentally sound coastal clean-up activities” (https://www.muell-im-meer.de/de/ergebnisse/produkte).

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Specific Measures:

• Detection (by specific sonar and digital marking) and verification (by divers) of ALDFG
• Retrieval campaigns in the Baltic Sea
• Suitability test of sonar in the North Sea
• Fishing for litter concept implemented in around 20 harbors of the North- and Baltic Sea

Specific Measures:

• Research project developed solutions to prevent inputs of dolly ropes through net modifications (https://www.thuenen.de/de/fachinstitute/ostseefischerei/projekte/fischerei-surveytechnik/verringerung-von-kunststoffmuell-aus-der-krabbenfischerei-durch-netzmodifikationen-drops)
• Education module applied in training of fishermen
• Pilot monitoring of lost angling gear and recommendations for measures to prevent litter inputs from recreational fisheries (https://www.muell-im-meer.de/de/ergebnisse/bedeutung-und-bewertung-von-meeresmuell-aus-der-marinen-freizeitfischerei-und-massnahmen)
• Development of the Ghostnet.zero APP in the framework of a r&d-project for mapping and reporting of ALDFG for potential regional application (OSPAR, HELCOM)

Specific Measures:

• Fishing for litter concept implemented in around 20 harbors of the North- and Baltic Sea
• DE was project partner in Interreg-project MARELITT BALTIC (https://www.marelittbaltic.eu/about)
• Recommendations for the disposal of fishing gear (https://www.muell-im-meer.de/de/ergebnisse/empfehlungen-zur-entsorgung-von-fanggeraeten-aus-der-fischerei

Specific Measures:
Packaging act obliges the PROs to inform private final consumers about the meaning and purpose of the separate collection of packaging waste (public relations work). With regard to single-use plastic packaging, the systems must provide information on the impact of littering on the environment, in particular on the marine environment and on measures to prevent it.

The “Runder Tisch Meeresmüll” (www.muell-im-meer.de) has been set up to support the implementation of measures e.g. of the national MSDF PoM and actions e.g. of the Regional Action Plans on Marine Litter of OSPAR and HELCOM. Around 130 stakeholders from different sectors are involved. It also serves as a great network to spread e.g. detailed info on initiatives and best-practice examples, raise awareness and produce joined products to influence national and international processes.

Specific Measures:
The “Runder Tisch Meeresmüll” (www.muell-im-meer.de) has been set up to support the implementation of measures e.g. of the national MSDF PoM and actions e.g. of the Regional Action Plans on Marine Litter of OSPAR and HELCOM. Around 130 stakeholders from different sectors are involved. It also serves as a great network to spread e.g. detailed info on initiatives and best practice examples, raise awareness and produce joined products to influence national and international processes.

Specific Measures:
An education concept to reach out to different age classes and professionals who work in the marine environment has been developed and disseminated. Education material is available from various initiatives initiated by public authorities and NGOs. A dedicated education module has been developed for application in the education of fishermen.
See also: www.muell-im-meer.de;
https://foodture.bildungscent.de/bildungsmaterial-zu-plastikmuell-im-meer/;
https://kurswechsel.bildungscent.de/wissen/

Specific Measures:
The RV Sonne expedition (BMBF funded project E-POLIO-T, 3/2023 – 7/2026) measures pollutants such as microplastic along the transect between Singapore and Port Louis in the Indian Ocean.

“Plasticpirates” is a citizen science project to collect data of plastic waste and raise awareness throughout Europe for its impact in rivers and, since 2024, along coastlines.

Scope: ■ International
Challenges (if applicable):
General challenges of LCAs of plastic products:
It is not possible to integrate plastic emissions and their environmental impact into the life cycle assessment as part of the impact assessment. On the one hand, the necessary data and methods are not available at life cycle inventory level. Secondly, there are no robust characterization models. Moreover, the latter have so far only dealt with the effects of plastic emissions in aquatic ecosystems (and to a very limited extent). With regard to impact assessment, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission also states that no models for the integration of plastic emissions into life cycle assessments exist to date and therefore no recommendation for impact assessment can be given (Nessi et al. 2021).

Investigation of the environmental impact of packaging made from biodegradable plastics (UBA-Texte 52/2012)
Scope: ■ National
Brief Description:
The ecological assessment in the study was based on a literature search and an in-depth analysis of the studies that were of particular interest. In addition, supplementary overview life cycle assessments of packaging made from bioplastics compared to packaging made from conventional plastics were carried out.

Challenges (if applicable):
A comparison of bio-based plastic packaging with fossil-based packaging reveals impacts in different impact categories. Converting to bio-PE would increase the amount of land required.

Evaluation of the environmental impact of take-away beverage cups and possible measures to reduce the consumption (UBA-Texte 29/2019)
Scope: ■ National
Brief Description:
The evaluation shows that, on the one hand, the volume of waste to be disposed of poses a challenge to the municipalities and, on the other hand, overcrowded waste bins also indirectly exacerbate the littering problem. The life cycle assessment of the cups shows that light disposable paper cups are superior to heavy paper cups and plastic cups in the mathematical environmental assessment. The picture changes, however, if the cup is no longer evaluated as an isolated product, but as used in the current status quo.
At this point, the lid plays a decisive role in determining the result. Since paper cups have a significantly higher percentage of lidding, the "paper cup" system under average German conditions contains more fossil-based plastic than the plastic cup system.
The results show that replacement of disposable cups for hot drinks by reusable cups is usually associated with positive environmental effects if:

• The reusable systems can achieve at least a circulation number greater than 10, better a circulation number greater than 25, through adequate return logistics or through self-responsible consumer behavior.
• The reusable systems are not to be equipped with disposable components such as lids, etc.
• The rinsing process of reusable systems takes place with a certified green electricity product

Challenges (if applicable):
The impact category climate change was also calculated without the renewable CO₂ content in the paper and the waste incineration plant (MVA) disposal method was taken as the basis case. At least for the paper cups, this corresponds to the status quo and avoids results that can easily be misinterpreted as a CO₂ sink.

Review of the effectiveness of article 21 VerpackG (Packaging Act) and development of proposals for further legal developments
Scope: ■ National
Brief Description:
In order to avoid or at least reduce negative impacts of packaging waste on the environment, Section 21 Par. 1 VerpackG (German Packaging Act) requires the systems (producer responsibility organizations) to base the participation fees of the first distributors (producers) on environmental criteria. Incentives are to be created in order to increase the recyclability of packaging and to promote the use of recyclates and renewable raw materials.
The results show the high importance of mechanical recycling, which leads to clear environmental advantages compared to energy recovery. The higher the share of recyclable packaging that goes into mechanical recycling, the better the overall results in almost all impact categories.
The use of recyclates in non-recyclable products performs significantly worse than their use in recyclable products. Accordingly, promoting the use of recyclates in recyclable packaging or products in particular is environmentally advantageous.
The life cycle assessments carried out do not show any clear advantage of bio-based plastics over petroleum-based plastics.
For the use of fiber-based, (conditionally) recyclable packaging in comparison to plastic packaging with good recyclability, the LCA results for the particularly relevant categories "climate change" and "land use" also show no clear result. Compared with plastic packaging, fiber-based packaging cannot therefore be classified across the board as more environmentally friendly.

Challenges (if applicable):
Due to the availability of data, only renewable raw materials that are specifically obtained in agriculture and forestry could be considered in this study. As soon as residual materials are used to a relevant extent as feedstock for recyclable biobased plastics and corresponding basic data for life cycle assessments are available, a supplementary assessment should be carried out on the basis of the data then available.

Plastics in the environment - Development of a system for initial estimates of the fate of waste and other plastic products in various environmental media (UBA-Texte 198/2020)
Scope: ■ National
Brief Description:
The scope of this study is the environment in Germany. The approach differentiates between two basic emission pathways:

• Emission from littering of plastic waste
• Emissions from plastic products and plastic containing products intended to be used in the environment.

For both pathways, models were built, allowing an estimation of the plastics remaining in the environment based on available information and expert assumptions.
The modelling of the pathway from littering is based on information on the plastics found in the environment. Here the main sinks have been differentiated according to their use (roads, service stations, parking lots, pedestrian zones, coasts, river sides and inland swimming areas).
For the pathway of plastic products and plastic containing products intended to be used in the environment, the modelling is based on the quantities placed on the market (POM) for 63 product groups and assumptions on the share remaining in the environment after the end of the use-phase.
From plastic products used in the environment, emissions often occur over a long time span (up to multiple decades) and also the permanent remain of entire products or product parts in the environment partly occurs only after long-time usage.
In conclusion based on this data basis the following observations can be made:

• The emissions from various plastic applications dominate the overall picture. Next to the transport sector, which is dominated by tyre abrasion, particularly the construction sector is a relevant source for plastic emissions.
• Tyre abrasion represents the quantitatively largest (single) source for plastic emission. The uncertainties (or differences in the assumed abrasion factors) are below 30 %. There is strong consensus among experts on the quantitative relevance of this source.
• Next to the abrasion from the intended use of tyres, the source contributing the most to emissions remaining in the environment is the incomplete removal of plastic products after their use.
• Littering of mostly small plastic objects such as packaging is also a relevant source of plastic emissions into the environment. Regarding the total emissions, however, this source is one amongst many similarly important sources. In many areas, cleaning measures can reduce the permanent presence in the environment. Changes in the nature and intensity of such cleaning measures are reflected in the developed model as a change of the captured share of waste or rather as slippage.

Challenges (if applicable):
In the developed model the emissions occurring in the future are counted “back” to the period of “the placing on market”. For an even more exact depiction of the yearly emissions, time series analyses of the POM as well as the variance of the respective usage lengths over time would have to be considered in the modelling. For both aspects, so far no consistent databases are available.
Main uncertainties and questions regarding the emissions in the environment are:

• The effectiveness of the existing cleaning measurements: Systematic data regarding cleaning measures, accounting for amounts with regard to different land use types, efficacy / slippage are missing here. The influence of the assumptions made on slip and plastic proportion has been depicted using the example of littering along roads. Parameter variations in line with the assumptions made in other studies can influence the results of the estimations by up to a factor of 10.
• The differentiation between littering and non-littering: because this distinction cannot be made for the plastic products found in the environment, this differentiation brings an additional uncertainty into the total estimations, which according to expert’s valuation is not countered by an added value regarding the conclusions.

Specific Measures:
■ Established a monitoring/reporting program/mechanism

Scope: ■ National ■ Regional
■ Macro Plastics ■ Microplastics (<5mm)■ Ocean

Brief Description:
Mature monitoring protocols are available for macro litter including plastics in the marine compartments beach, water column and seafloor (MSFD D10C1) and indicator species have been defined for ingestion and entanglement (MSFD D10C3 and C4).

Challenges (if applicable):
A remaining challenge remains D10C2 of the MSFD on micro litter in the different marine compartments since monitoring and assessment approaches create hard to compare results. However, joint approaches with the involvement of DE are currently been developed in the EU Technical Group on Marine Litter and OSPAR and HELCOM. OSPAR currently agreed on a new common indicator on micro litter in sediments.

Specific Measures:
Participation in activities of OSPAR, HELCOM, UNEP, WTO, Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee “End Plastic Pollution” and under the Basel Convention

Target Regions:
■ Africa ■ Middle East and North Africa ■ South Asia
■ Central Asia ■ South East Latin America and Caribbean

Specific Measures:
The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) is supporting the engagement of the German government with its Grant Programme against Marine Litter ‘Marine Debris Framework – Regional hubs around the globe’ (Marine: DeFRAG). The main goal of the Grant Programme is to prevent plastic waste at the source.
See https://www.z-u-g.org/en/responsibilities-and-tasks/grant-programme-against-marine-litter/