Recycling und Verwertung von Kunststoffabfällen –

Plastics have become an essential part of human life. Since the beginning of the industrial production of plastics, the question what should happen with plastic waste it is not solved to a satisfactory extent. Developing end-of-life options for plastics is a major challenge in order to use plastics as a valuable material even after usage. In this thesis, the current state of research on recycling of plastics is presented. From the perspective of using plastic waste three types are explained in more detail, mechanical and feedstock recycling as well as energy recovery. The problems and limitations in plastic recycling are discussed. The legal framework for plastic waste forms another part of the work. As an alternative to conventional plastics, biodegradable plastics are often mentioned to be a possible solution for the waste problem. The extent to which biodegradable plastics can make a positive contribution to the waste problem is discussed in a further section. In addition, special focus is given on the issue of marine littering.