The Circle of Plastic
— for Greenpeace Magazin
PET Preforms
— the preforms are made out of Recyclat. To be formed again they are heated in an oven.
— Containers filled with PET Preforms at the production site of Werner & Mertz
— The preheated forms are blown up to the bottles of the bathroom cleaner.
— Timothy Glaze, who is managing the Recyclat-initiative at Werner & Wertz at the production hall.
— the final bottles are getting filled with bathroom cleaner.
— recycled colored plastic comes out grey.
— Welcome desk at Der Grüne Punkt in cologne.
— At this test lab at Der Grüne Punkt in cologne stands the machines of garbage seperation in miniature format.
— Black plastic can't be recycled
The optical sensor of the machine which separates the recyclable packaging from the non-recyclable packaging simply can't »see« the black plastic. It's sorted out as non recycleable residual waste, which gets burnt in Germany and, as a result, pollutes the atmosphere with carbon dioxide.
— Alternatives?
An unpackaged store in Berlin Neukoelln. The clients bring their own packaging or buy glasses and cotton bags at the store.
The circle of plastic — for Greenpeace Magazin No. 04 - 2021 - photography — Paulina Hildesheim - photo editor — Nele Gülck - author — Benedict Wermter