Many industrialized countries, including Germany, transport some of their packaging waste abroad. This includes plastic, which is transported in an energy-intensive manner to other countries – usually with inadequate environmental regulations – and disposed of in incineration plants or landfills. It is not uncommon for plastic waste to end up in the ocean, harming the entire ecosystem. The plastic disposal can enter the food cycle via microplastics and thus enter the human body, where it can cause damage to health.
Poorer countries are particularly affected by plastic waste, which in turn means massive consequential damage for its inhabitants and ecosystems.