Press | Umweltbundesamt

A worldwide ban on the production and use of the flame retardant HBCD will be introduced soon. The resolution was adopted at a UN chemicals conference in Geneva. The chemical is to be added to the list of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) under the Stockholm Convention. HBCD stands for Hexabromocyclododecane. Up to now it has been used mainly in insulating wall panels and in future certain uses... read more

Food constitutes an important exposure path of the plasticiser DEHP. The substance, which makes plastics flexible, has been found in the environment and in human urine. This is undesirable as the substance has a damaging effect on the reproductive organs which can impair the fertility and development of unborn children. DEHP may not be used in toys or cosmetics for this reason. Overall, the quanti... read more

A whole range of batteries have excessively high heavy metal content. In addition, the presence of these heavy metals is often not labelled. These are the conclusions of a new study done on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA). UBA President Jochen Flasbarth says: "The contamination in many of the tested zinc-coal batteries is exceedingly high: nearly half of them exceed the limit for ca... read more

The Federal Environment Agency (UBA) has now supplied 500 energy-saving packs to libraries. The sets can be borrowed free of charge and used to detect and minimise stand-by losses. The campaign was launched in cooperation with the foundation No-Energy-Stiftung für Klimaschutz und Ressourceneffizienz. "The most effective brake on the electricity bill is to save! Many households could take simple me... read more

The greening of our mobility and transport systems will benefit both the individual and the economy. Some new studies by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) call for more interlinking of the car, bus, train and bicycle as transport choices, for more control of traffic flows and for expanding the cycling networks. The studies also show that sustainable mobility not only benefits the environment an... read more

Mr Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), will be meeting staff of the Federal Environment Agency in Dessau today on his tour of Germany. Talks will focus on international environmental protection issues such as marine litter and the continuing loss of fertile soils. The new role of the UNEP after its status was upgraded as agreed by the UN Member Sta... read more

The volume of waste in the world's oceans has grown to over one hundred million tonnes. Some 600,000 cubic metres are thought to be on the seabed of the North Sea alone. The major type of waste is plastic. Many marine animals either ingest or become entangled in these plastics, leading to injury or even death. Germany and the European Commission want to drastically reduce waste deposition to the s... read more

Federal Environment Minister Peter Altmaier presented the Federal Ministry for Environment's new funding priority "Material efficiency in production" at the Hannover Messe trade show today. The BMU is supporting the initiative under the Environmental Innovation Programme with a funding volume of up to 20 million euros. The objective of the funding priority is the optimisation of production process... read more