Polymers and plastics play a very important part in the modern world and contribute to people's wellbeing and comfort. However, products made of them are contributing to land‐ and marine‐based environmental pollution due to littering and other ways of emission, and therefore threaten ecosystems worldwide. However, waste management and responses by governments and the consumer differ strongly from country to country. The current article provides an overview of several important aspects of polymer waste and plastic pollution as well as describes selected strategies to mitigate these using examples from Germany and Australia, and therefore aims to contribute to the resolution of the ever‐increasing problem of unsustainable plastic consumption, disposal, and pollution.

中文翻译：

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塑料与环境——德国和澳大利亚的现状和挑战。

聚合物和塑料在现代世界中发挥着非常重要的作用，为人们的福祉和舒适做出了贡献。然而，由它们制成的产品由于乱扔垃圾和其他排放方式而导致陆地和海洋环境污染，因此威胁着全世界的生态系统。然而，各国政府和消费者的废物管理和应对措施存在很大差异。当前的文章概述了聚合物废物和塑料污染的几个重要方面，并使用德国和澳大利亚的示例描述了减轻这些问题的选定策略，因此旨在为解决日益严重的不可持续塑料消费问题做出贡献、处置和污染。