Combating marine litter with circular economy TU Braunschweig aims to curb plastic pollution in Brazil
Bags among mangroves, plastic bottles in fishing nets, straw fragments and microplastics in the stomachs of turtles and fish. Brazil, the fifth largest country in the world, produces around 7.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, of which around 1.3 million tonnes end up in the sea. Together with partners in Brazil, Technische Universität Braunschweig wants to significantly reduce this amount of waste – through improved waste management systems and the establishment of a circular economy. The PROMARES project is funded with six million euros from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.
“Pollution of the marine environment is one of the greatest ecological disasters of our time and affects us all. With PROMARES, we want to achieve a reduction in pollution in one of the countries with the highest marine waste production, Brazil, through research, environmental education and socio-political development cooperation,” explain Professor Andreas Haarstrick and Professor Julia Gebert from the Leichtweiß Institute for Hydraulic Engineering (LWI) at TU Braunschweig, who are leading the project. To this end, the LWI’s Waste and Resource Management Department can build on existing relationships with Brazilian universities and on the ProteGEEr project for the implementation of a more climate-friendly waste policy in Brazil.
In collaboration with Brazilian partners from education, government and the private sector, the Braunschweig scientists now want to develop solutions to effectively reduce marine litter. The focus is particularly on island and rural regions as well as sensitive ecosystems such as the Amazon and coastal forests. With PROMARES, the project partners aim to strengthen environmental and climate protection while creating market incentives for sustainable waste management.
How does waste end up in the oceans?
To this end, the sources of waste are first precisely recorded and mapped. The project team is investigating where and why marine litter is generated and how it enters the ocean via rivers. In addition, the researchers are developing new methods for assessing and preventing waste.
The social aspect is also an important part of the project. Various social groups are actively involved, such as those responsible for waste disposal in households or those who play a central role in sorting, recycling and environmental awareness around waste.
The data, research results and educational content will then be bundled on a digital knowledge platform. In addition, a National Institute for Marine Litter and Circular Economy is being established to facilitate scientific exchange and technology transfer at national and international level. “The German-Brazilian project is helping to strengthen Brazil’s role as a pioneer in global cooperation on waste prevention and sustainable development,” says Professor Gebert.
Project data
The project ‘PROMARES – Reducing marine litter through improved waste and circular economy’ will be funded with six million euros over the next three years by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety and supervised by the project management agency ZUG (Future, Environment, Society). PROMARES is coordinated by the Leichtweiß Institute for Hydraulic Engineering (LWI) at TU Braunschweig, Department of Waste and Resource Management (Prof. Andreas Haarstrick, Dr. Kai Münnich, Prof. Julia Gebert). Other partners include the Department of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Morphology at the LWI (Prof. Jochen Aberle), the Institute of Geodesy and Photogrammetry at TU Braunschweig (Prof. Markus Gerke) and, in Brazil, the Federal Fluminense University (UFF), the State University of Bahia (UNEB), the State University of Maranhao (UEMA), the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) and the NGO Costa Brasilis. Other political and academic institutions are also involved.