1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
In focus
ChristmasSyriaGerman election 2025
Latest audioLatest videos
Live TV
Mounds of plastic trash
Image: Manira Chaudhary/DWImage: Manira Chaudhary/DW

Plastic pollution

Plastic is made from fossil fuels and greatly contributes to pollution worldwide. All the plastic waste we produce ends up somewhere, be that the street, the landfill or the ocean.

Skip next section All Content on this topic

All Content on this topic

The Plastic Challenge – Ep 07: Death by Plastic

Ananda is still having difficulties to get information about his missing father. Why are the police so uncooperative?
EducationMarch 20, 202110:00 min

The Plastic Challenge – Ep 06: Doing Something about It!

Kalulu can’t forget the sight of the dead man he saw in the river, but he’s too afraid to tell anyone about it.
EducationMarch 20, 202110:00 min

The Plastic Challenge – Ep 05: Change with the Times

Mama Rosa was caught by the police using banned plastic products. What can her children do about it?
EducationMarch 20, 202110:00 min

The Plastic Challenge – Ep 04: As Serious as It Gets

President Mkea believes members of the government are helping to import plastics. Will his suspicions be confirmed?
EducationMarch 20, 202110:00 min

The Plastic Challenge – Ep 03: Plastic Everywhere

Gammy got stranded at university and accepted a stranger’s invitation to stay at his apartment on campus.
EducationMarch 20, 202110:00 min

The Plastic Challenge – Ep 02: Choking on Plastic!

Maua, the goat of Mama Rosa’s family, disappeared while Kalulu and Olindi made a terrific discovery. What’s happened?
EducationMarch 20, 202110:00 min

The Plastic Challenge – Ep 01: Body of Water

In Songa town, stallholders like Mama Rosa are facing increasing difficulties to comply with a national plastic ban.
EducationMarch 20, 202110:00 min
Plastikmüll Müllhalde Bangladesch

Bangladesh: Sacking plastic bags

In Bangladesh, a scientist has developed an eco-friendly biodegradable alternative to plastic bags.
ScienceFebruary 26, 202104:55 min
Thumbnail Bioplastic

Is bioplastic the „better“ plastic?

Bioplastics are said to be the “better” plastic of the future. But is that actually true?
TechnologyFebruary 5, 202109:48 min
Hearing-impaired garmet maker Agnes Nabgala wears one of Kimuli Fashionability's COVID masks fitted with a recycled plastic panel to allow for lip-leading

Uganda: Lip-reading friendly facemasks made from trash

When Juliet Namujju realized facemasks stopped her workers from lip-reading, she used plastic waste to fix the problem.
Nature and EnvironmentJanuary 12, 2021
external

Pinwheel: Plastic waste

DW correspondents from Uganda, Zimbabwe and Nigeria tell us what their countries are doing to fight waste.
SocietyJanuary 7, 202101:51 min
Gambia Plastikmüll Recycling

The Gambia: The queen of recycling

A women's initiative in Gambia turns plastic waste into bags and peanut shells into briquettes.
Nature and EnvironmentJanuary 4, 202107:10 min
DW Eco Africa - Recycling, Gambia

Gambia: The queen of recycling

A women's initiative in Gambia turns plastic waste into bags and peanut shells into briquettes.
BusinessJanuary 4, 202107:05 min
Ybor City's famed chickens strut down a nearly empty Seventh Avenue sidewalk outside the Ritz Ybor in Tampa

2020: Climate took a back seat to COVID

With the world preoccupied by pandemic concerns, environmental issues were overlooked this year.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 28, 202012 images
Eco Africa - Making sustainable fashion from garbage

Making sustainable fashion from garbage

By upcycling waste for his fashion label, Javier Goyeneche also helps reduce plastic trash in the oceans.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 24, 202003:00 min
A special waste bin made with the form of a fish on the shores of Tanzania

EU bans plastic waste exports to poor nations

Under new rules, trash importers and exporters will need to agree on how to handle hazardous shipments.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 22, 2020
external

Popcorn - a polystyrene substitute

Popcorn as a polystyrene substitute - a Göttingen professor is working on this innovative project.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 10, 202005:05 min
DW Eco Africa (Sendungslogo englisch)

Eco Africa — The Environment Magazine

This week on Eco Africa: Landscapes devastated by mining being brought back to life and Africa's Erin Brockovich.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 10, 202026:06 min
Eco Africa's Sandrah Twinoburyo

Welcome to the latest edition of Eco Africa

This week on Eco Africa: Sustainable forestry in Ghana and Kenya's endangered cleanup crew, the unloved vulture.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 4, 2020
DW's Eco Africa

Eco Africa — The Environment Magazine

This week on Eco Africa: Sustainable forestry in Ghana and Kenya's endangered cleanup crew, the vulture.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 4, 202026:05 min
DW Eco Africa - Senegal celebrates anti-plastic campaigner

Senegal celebrates anti-plastic campaigner

As Senegal bans some single-use plastic items many are thanking Modou Fall, a tireless anti-plastic campaigner.
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 4, 202003:37 min
A dirty face mask discarded on the pavement

Reuse, recycle or reinvent?

Face masks are polluting streets, beaches and oceans. Could biodegradable versions or recycling tackle the problem?
Nature and EnvironmentNovember 24, 2020
Discarded surgical mask on the ground

Recycling coronavirus masks in France

Since the pandemic started, face masks have become a key tool in the fight to curb COVID-19 infections. But with countries ramping up production of a largely disposable product, a new environmental problem is emerging. At the same time, so are some solutions.
Nature and EnvironmentNovember 19, 202009:09 min
A man walking through a mountain of plastic bottles in Nairobi

Kenya under pressure to accept US waste

Petrochemical and recycling companies in the United States are lobbying their government to push Kenya to relax strict anti-plastic measures. Environmental campaigners say that if these firms have their way, Africa could become a dumping ground for plastic.
Nature and EnvironmentNovember 19, 202003:41 min
British campaigner Laura Sanderson collecting plastic litter in a river

Swimmer seeking microplastics in Britain's remote rivers

The United Kingdom uses 5 million metric tons of plastic every year, and only about a third of that ends up being recycled. In a bid to find out just how widespread plastic pollution is, British campaigner Laura Sanderson has decided to test the waters — quite literally — in the UK's wildest rivers.
Nature and EnvironmentNovember 19, 202007:38 min
Boys chest-deep in a river full of plastic

Drowning in plastic

We find out how people are tackling plastic pollution around the world, from testing British waters for microplastics, to an Indonesian scientist making packaging from seaweed — and efforts in France to recycle discarded face masks. Plus, why environmentalists in Kenya fear the African continent could become a dumping ground for US plastic.
Nature and EnvironmentNovember 12, 202030:00 min
external

Making fashion out of waste

Fashion designer Elisha Ofori Bamfo's clothing is made from second-hand clothing and plastic waste.
November 2, 202003:11 min
Eco Africa's Sandrah Twinoburyo

Welcome to the newest edition of Eco Africa

This week on Eco Africa: Art for the oceans and saving rhinos in South Africa by cutting off their horns.
Nature and EnvironmentOctober 28, 2020
DW Global 3000 20.01.2020

Work Places series: New uses for seaweed

Two women – in Indonesia and in Norway – are researching future-oriented uses for farmed seaweed.
BusinessOctober 23, 202007:48 min
DW's Eco Africa

Eco Africa — The Environment Magazine

This week on Eco Africa: Art for the oceans and saving rhinos in South Africa by cutting off their horns.
Nature and EnvironmentOctober 22, 202026:06 min
Eco Africa Sendung #235 25.09.2020

Properly disposing chemical containers in Ghana

An NGO is fighting to stop farmers from reusing containers that once held chemicals like weedicides and pesticides.
Nature and EnvironmentSeptember 25, 202003:15 min
Cigarette butts inside an ashtray

World Cleanup Day 2020: Tackling cigarette butt pollution

Every year, more than 4.5 trillion discarded cigarette butts end up in our planet's natural habitats and waterways.
Nature and EnvironmentSeptember 18, 20208 images
Lego toy pieces in paper bags

Lego to swap plastic bags for paper ones

The switch is part of a $400 million sustainability effort by the Danish toymaker.
Nature and EnvironmentSeptember 15, 2020
Eco Africa - The Gambia's recycling queen

The Gambia's recycling queen

Fed up with the Gambia's waste, Isatou Ceesay developed a technique that recycles plastic bags into new products.
Nature and EnvironmentSeptember 4, 202006:06 min
Eco Africa - South Africa's plastic roads

South Africa's plastic roads

South Africa has built the continent's first plastic road, helping keep plastic waste out of the environment.
Nature and EnvironmentSeptember 4, 202001:54 min
Eco Africa - Ghanaian rappers tackle environmental issues in Accra

Ghanaian rappers tackle environmental issues

Can music help to tackle the city's environmental challenges? Meet the rappers raising awareness in their communities.
Nature and EnvironmentAugust 3, 202004:50 min
Symbolbild - Vermüllung - Meer

COVID-19 worsens Spain's plastic problem

The progress Spain had made in raising consumer awareness has been dashed by the crisis.
SocietyJuly 23, 202004:49 min
external

More plastic waste in Germany

Despite lower greenhouse gas emissions, a new flood of plastic waste is becoming a problem.
July 17, 202002:02 min
Eco Africa - Making protective face masks from plastic waste in Uganda

Making protective face masks from plastic waste in Uganda

A recycling company in Uganda is turning plastic waste into face masks that are urgently needed in hospitals.
Nature and EnvironmentJune 19, 202004:03 min
Coronavirus aggravates Thailand's plastic waste crisis

Coronavirus aggravates Thailand's plastic waste crisis

The COVID-19 health crisis and the resulting lockdown has led to a huge rise in Thailand's plastic waste.
Nature and EnvironmentMay 27, 2020
A penguin in a nest surrounded by plastic bottles 

Protecting Argentina's imperiled penguins

Penguins living at the "end of the world" are facing threats from climate change, tourism and plastic pollution.
Nature and EnvironmentMay 22, 2020
DW Projekt Zukunft | Ein schwimmender Damm gegen Plastik

A floating dam against plastic trash

The Citarum River is packed with plastic. Floating trash barriers should change that.
ScienceMay 8, 202005:02 min
Mushrroms sprout out of a trunk

5 sustainable alternatives to plastics

As single use plastic bans try to stem the packaging waste tide, these bioplastics promise more sustainable solutions.
Nature and EnvironmentMay 6, 2020
Eco Africa Sendung Nummer 186 | Burkina Faso Kunststoff

Burkina Faso's plastic weavers

A Burkina Faso women's cooperative is combining female empowerment with eco protection by turning waste into goods.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 30, 202001:44 min
Recycling von Kunststoffen, PET Flaschen und Plastikabfälle

Can microorganisms solve our plastic waste problem?

Researchers have discovered an enzyme that breaks down PET in a matter of hours and makes recycling profitable.
ScienceApril 27, 2020
DW Eco India (Sendungslogo)

Eco India – The Environment Magazine

Plastic is everywhere. We looked for recycling solutions and for concepts to avoid plastic waste.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 23, 202026:00 min
Ecoindia Sendung Waste Fuel

From plastic waste to fuel

Two Indians are using a recycling process that turns plastic waste into fuel.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 23, 202006:57 min
Ecoindia Sendung Plastikmüll

The dirty business with plastic waste

Many wealthy countries send their plastic waste to poorer ones. Not all of it can be recycled.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 23, 202005:20 min
Ecoindia Sendung Menschen sammeln Müll

The whale and Norway’s plastic collectors

The death of a whale off Norway has triggered a national campaign against plastic waste.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 23, 202004:07 min
Ecoindia Sendung Icecream

How to wrap delivered food sustainably

Delivered food is often wrapped in plastic. How to avoid the resulting plastic waste?
Nature and EnvironmentApril 23, 202002:39 min