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Waste

Waste can be a byproduct of industrial processes - or an item can become waste after it's been consumed. Waste - be it plastic, micro-plastic, radioactive, or otherwise toxic - can cause major environmental problems.

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All Content on this topic

A view of a woman salvaging items from a waste dump which is expanding along a tent displacement camp

Israel's Gaza bombardment creates dangerous trash piles

Huge piles of waste are growing in the Gaza Strip, adding to the risk of disease and contamination in the enclave.
ConflictsJune 29, 202401:50 min
DW Sendung | Planet A

We need to fix landfills — here's how

Landfills cause many diseases and are a massive driver of climate change, releasing methane. What are the solutions?
ClimateJune 28, 202412:40 min
DW Eco India (Sendungslogo Composite)

How can we manage our food sustainably? - Eco India

Teaching others to grow organic food, empowering the poorest to improve their nutrition levels, and cutting food waste.
Nature and EnvironmentJune 27, 202426:04 min
[No title]

Granola poop & a deserving victim

Sadly, one of our recent episodes caused a listener to go outside and touch human feces.
ScienceJune 27, 202420:01 min
A balloon carrying various objects including what appeared to be trash, believed to have been sent by North Korea pictured off Incheon South Korea on June 9

North Korea resumes sending trash-filled ballons south

Residents of South Korea have been warned not to touch the balloons sent across the border with the North.
PoliticsJune 24, 2024
Musician Zabda performing on his guitar for a group of school kids

Burkina Faso musicians helping to beat plastic pollution

A singer and his band are raising their voices to boost awareness about plastic pollution in Ouagadougou.
Nature and EnvironmentJune 24, 202404:46 min
DW Sendung | Planet A

India: Reviving repair culture to fight e-waste

India is reviving its tradition of repairing things to combat the growing mountain of e-waste.
TechnologyJune 24, 202408:55 min
DW "Global Us" Sendungslogo Composite

Mauritania's iron ore train and repair revival: Global Us

India plans to stop e-waste, China's Gen Z search for jobs and Mauritania's desert express train crosses the Sahara.
Nature and EnvironmentJune 24, 202426:04 min
DW Eco India (Sendungslogo Composite)

Feeling the heat - Eco India

India's heat wave has been one of the longest ever recorded. What can be done to address the root of the problem?
Nature and EnvironmentJune 21, 202426:04 min
Video Still Eco Africa

Trashy tunes to raise awareness

DRC band Kin'Gongolo Kiniata use discarded objects to make music - and raise awareness about the huge issue of waste.
Nature and EnvironmentJune 18, 202402:30 min
Soliders pick up trash in South Korea

Are North Korea's trash balloons an escalation?

South Korea has suspended a 2018 peace agreement and said it might resume propaganda broadcasts into the North.
PoliticsJune 4, 2024
North Korean garbage balloon in South Korea pictured on June 2, 2024

South Korea to halt pact with North over trash balloons

South Korea's top security body wants to suspend a military agreement over trash balloons sent by North Korea.
PoliticsJune 3, 2024
Two South Korean soldiers examine the content of a North Korean balloon

North Korea to stop flying trash-filled balloons south

North Korean officials warned more trash-filled balloons would go into South Korea if Seoul sends leaflets their way.
ConflictsJune 2, 2024
A balloon believed to have been sent by North Korea on May 29

North Korea sends 600 more trash-filled balloons into South

North Korea began sending trash and excrement-filled balloons into South this week, calling them "gifts of sincerity."
ConflictsJune 2, 2024
Vorschaubild Planet A

Primary Energy

We only have to replace third of the fossil fuels we're burning!
Nature and EnvironmentMay 31, 202409:51 min
A pile of discarded electronics products

EU: Right to repair aims to shrink e-waste pile

A new EU directive aims to encourage the repair of common household products. What will this mean for the economy?
BusinessMay 31, 2024
DW "Eco Africa" Sendungslogo mit Partnerlogos (Composite)

Eco Africa — The Environment Magazine

Cleaning up one of Africa's Great Lakes, Tunisia's age-old sustainable fishing method, and rethinking farming.
Nature and EnvironmentMay 30, 202426:04 min
Living Planet 210318 Podcast Picture Teaser

Deep Dive: Reviving repair culture

We generate enough e-waste to circle the globe. Can the repair movement and new EU laws help us achieve sustainability?
Nature and EnvironmentMay 30, 202417:23 min
A balloon believed to have been sent by North Korea is seen over a rice field at Cheorwon, South Korea on May 29, 2024.

South Korea decries trash balloons dropped by North

More than 150 balloons with trash from the North were detected in South Korea.
ConflictsMay 29, 2024
DW "Eco Africa" Sendungslogo mit Partnerlogos (Composite)

Eco Africa — The Environment Magazine

Côte d'Ivoire’s green jobs boom and collecting data to tackle pollution in Nairobi.
Nature and EnvironmentMay 23, 202426:04 min
DW "Eco Africa" Sendungslogo mit Partnerlogos (Composite)

Eco Africa — The Environment Magazine

Greening bricks and wind turbines in Uganda and Sweden, ending food waste in Lagos, and growing hope in Niger.
Nature and EnvironmentMay 16, 202426:06 min
A farmer cutting green bananas into small slices to produce nutritious foodstuffs in Zimbabwe, Africa.

Zimbabwe entrepreneur giving wasted bananas new appeal

As much as 30% of the produce grown by small-scale banana farmers in Zimbabwe is discarded because it can't be sold.
Nature and EnvironmentMay 14, 202402:12 min
R-Create co-founder Adina Humă shows her reusable packaging solution

Romanian startup boosts sustainable online shopping

Online shopping generates tons of waste. This Romanian startup has devised a returnable and reusable packaging solution.
BusinessMay 8, 202402:40 min
EcoIndia Show

Turning plastic wrappers into practical items

For Satyajith Aggarwal, turning plastic waste into useful accessories is a labor of love.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 24, 202403:43 min
Fruit packaged in plastic or arranged in cardboard boxes

Shopping showdown — what's greener, plastic or paper?

Paper packaging is more environmentally friendly than plastic, right? But it's not so simple.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 24, 2024
An art installation made with discarded plastic bottles

A Nigerian museum turns waste into art

A museum in Nigeria is attracting visitors with decoration and works of art made from recycled materials.
ArtsApril 22, 202401:36 min
Planet A Atommüll

Germany's nuclear waste secret

Germany has a dirty little secret. A radioactive waste dump has been leaking for decades.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 19, 202415:48 min
DW Eco India (Sendungslogo Composite)

Circular economy, circular thinking - Eco India

From car tires to electronic waste: innovative ideas for improving our waste management.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 18, 202426:05 min
A landfill in front of smokestacks

How European trash illegally ends up in Southeast Asia

The illegal waste trade from Europe to Southeast Asia has emerged as a highly profitable, low-risk criminal enterprise.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 17, 2024
A woman throws collected empty plastic bottles onto a garbage collection point containing many more empty plastic bottles in Uganda, Africa.

Turning trash into cash in Uganda

In Uganda, refugees are using a mobile app to collect plastic waste and earn a living.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 16, 202405:47 min
A pair of glasses with a black frame against a yellow background beside contact lense kit on a pink background

Eyeing sustainability: Contact lenses vs. glasses

Is all the waste associated with contact lenses better than the environmental impact of manufacturing glasses?
Nature and EnvironmentApril 12, 2024
A waste dump with used clothes in Java, Indonesia

Fast fashion: France seeks to slow down wasteful industry

France is working on a new law that is calling for companies to disclose the environmental impact of their products.
BusinessApril 8, 2024
DW "Global Us" Sendungslogo Composite

Is globalization a blessing or curse?

The globalization backlash is growing. China is building a port in Peru. And Ghana is drowning in old clothes.
GlobalizationApril 6, 202426:06 min
DW Tomorrow Today Sendungslogo Composite

Tomorrow Today - DW's Science Show

We need to find a way of dealing with plastic waste and avoiding plastic packaging.
ScienceApril 5, 202426:06 min
DW Eco Africa (Sendungslogo mit Partnerlogos englisch)

Eco Africa — The Environment Magazine

Ghana tackles pollution with citizen science and Kenyan scientists wage fungal warfare against witchweed.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 4, 202426:06 min
DW Eco Africa (Sendungslogo mit Partnerlogos englisch)

Eco Africa — The Environment Magazine

Protecting migratory birds and helping their hunters in Egypt, and creating energy from human waste in Kenya.
Nature and EnvironmentMarch 28, 202426:06 min
A crouching young man in a green T-shirt holds up a model airplane made from white plastic foam

Young Nigerian turns trash into model airplanes

Bolaji Fatai builds remote-controlled airplanes out of found objects, and hopes to one day work in the drone industry.
SocietyMarch 28, 202401:29 min
A man throws empty batteries into a cardboard recycling box in Poland, Europe.

Avoiding landfill: Recycling batteries in Poland

An activist in Poland has encouraged the public to recycle batteries to keep them out of landfill, and it's catching on.
Nature and EnvironmentMarch 26, 202401:54 min
A close-up of a woman tying her shoe in India

Indian groups empower women working in informal sector

Two Delhi organizations are helping the many women who work informally as waste pickers or in the construction industry.
Nature and EnvironmentMarch 25, 202404:35 min
DW Eco Africa (Sendungslogo mit Partnerlogos englisch)

Eco Africa — The Environment Magazine

Water management in rural Ghana, upcycled solar lamps in Zimbabwe and the Kenyan TV show that’s changing farming.
Food SecurityMarch 21, 202426:06 min
Pile of discarded electronic devices, including computers, wires and a sewing machine

UN warns of e-waste 'catastrophe'

Recycling lags far behind the mass of electronic waste created, including discarded phones and computers, the UN says.
Nature and EnvironmentMarch 20, 2024
77 EcoJogging

Togo: Running to save the planet

Eco jogging aims to create a cleaner, greener future for Togo and inspire global action.
SportsMarch 20, 202403:30 min
DW Projekt Zukunft | Tomorrow Today (PZ) Sendung

How harmful are forever chemicals?

In the US, PFAS have been phased out of all fast-food packaging. Just how toxic are these forever chemicals?
ScienceMarch 15, 202401:56 min
People sort through mountains of largely plastic waste in a city dump

Nigeria joins global efforts to curb plastic waste

The number of countries banning plastic bags is growing, but enforcement is still an issue, especially in Africa.
Nature and EnvironmentMarch 13, 2024
DW Projekt Zukunft | Tomorrow Today (PZ) Sendung

A new chemical process facilitates plastic recycling

Lots of packaging is made from mixed plastics. Now PET can be separated from other varieties using chemical recycling.
ScienceMarch 13, 202404:16 min
DW Sendung EcoIndia 08.03.2024

Menstruation: Raising knowledge, reducing waste

An NGO founder in Pune tackles taboos around menstruation while encouraging the use of sustainable period products.
Nature and EnvironmentMarch 13, 202405:54 min
Recyclable batteries

How can a circular economy benefit the planet?

We are consuming and wasting more products than our planet can sustain. How could a circular economy help?
Nature and EnvironmentMarch 12, 2024
DW Projekt Zukunft | Tomorrow Today (PZ) Sendung

How much microplastic is in waterbodies?

Scientist Roman Lehner sails the globe to collect data on how much plastic is in the world's seas, lakes and rivers.
ScienceMarch 11, 202404:51 min
DW Projekt Zukunft Sendungslogo Englisch (Tomorrow Today)

Tomorrow Today - The Science Show

Plastics and PFAS have useful properties, but they can also be highly toxic. How can we get rid of these contaminants?
ScienceMarch 8, 202426:06 min
DW Thumbnail | Planet A | Can we really recycle our old clothes?

Can we really recycle our old clothes?

100 billion clothes made yearly, 65% landfilled in 12 months. New textile recycling tech aims for sustainability.
Nature and EnvironmentMarch 8, 202413:29 min