The FLUSTIX blog

News from the plastic-free market and research

Are mega festivals still in tune with the times? 1920 768 flustix

Are mega festivals still in tune with the times?

The first festival summer is almost over, the big events inspired hundreds of thousands of music fans after two years of Corona break. Hurricane, Rock am Ring, Rock im Park, Parookaville, Deichbrand, and Wacken Open Air – are mega-events with very different target groups, but all with the same problem: sustainability and festivals don’t go…

read more
Even with recycled jewelry, not all that glitters is gold 1920 768 flustix

Even with recycled jewelry, not all that glitters is gold

Gold is one of the most sought-after precious metals. Gold jewelry expresses special appreciation for the person receiving the gift. Investments in gold reserves are considered particularly safe. The term gold has positive symbolic power. If something is “worth its weight in gold”, then it is particularly valuable. Today, we turn the gold medal around…

read more
Editorial to the august newsletter 150 150 flustix

Editorial to the august newsletter

Dear people, Most of us are still in the middle of our summer vacations, but in the northern states it will soon start again: the next school year begins. With every new start, mountains of fresh plastic pile up again in our schoolbags and classrooms. Even during my early school days – and they began…

read more
Weizenfeld - Titelbild zu Blogartikel Bioplastik
What is bioplastic? 907 605 Flustix

What is bioplastic?

The word “bio” in bioplastic gives the impression that it is better or more environmentally friendly than regular plastic. But is it true? What exactly is bioplastic, anyway? What differences are there and why you should not dispose of it in the bio garbage can? Find out here. What is bioplastic made of and what…

read more
First unpackaged delivery service brings plastic-free shopping 953 375 flustix

First unpackaged delivery service brings plastic-free shopping

Innovations recommended by the flustix experts Food delivery services are the big thing in Germany’s big cities: Gorillas, Flink and Getir are their names, and they bring groceries home in a matter of minutes. Their sustainability record is mediocre: Fruit and vegetables are often packed in plastic, and the groceries come in disposable bags. This…

read more
Zero Waste! Cooking classes against food waste 953 375 flustix

Zero Waste! Cooking classes against food waste

Innovations recommended by the flustix experts Put an end to the insane waste of food – that is the concern of the Berlin-based chef Thore Hildebrandt. Hildebrandt, who actually studied banking, is a zero-waste chef. This means that he conjures up delicious dishes from food that is thrown away in other kitchens. And he uses…

read more
What can be put in the yellow garbage can? This list will really help you 1920 768 flustix

What can be put in the yellow garbage can? This list will really help you

RECYCLING from A to Z The “Waste Separation Initiative” explains what belongs in the yellow bag or the yellow garbage can. The initiative knows what they are talking about, as they are the mouthpiece of the companies that operate the dual system. The Green Dot is also part of the dual system. Aluminum, tin and…

read more
Mystery yellow bag – what makes it so difficult for us to separate waste 953 375 flustix

Mystery yellow bag – what makes it so difficult for us to separate waste

DEEP DIVE RECYCLING GARBAGE CAN By Ulrike Seidel More than 30 years after the introduction of packaging recycling, we have plenty of garbage cans, containers and bags on our streets, but we are still often confused: What exactly belongs in the yellow garbage can? Why are crown caps made of metal allowed in there, but…

read more
The nation’s nag has made us the world champion in disposable deposits 1920 768 flustix

The nation’s nag has made us the world champion in disposable deposits

ATTITUDE WITH BISS When it comes to PET bottles, we are world champions. We get 25 cents per bottle, so nothing is left lying around. The return rate is more than 97 percent. The recycled material is unmixed and in demand like hotcakes: Foil manufacturers, textile producers and other industries are scrambling for the old…

read more
Do you have to rinse out tomato cans before they go into the yellow garbage can? 1920 768 flustix

Do you have to rinse out tomato cans before they go into the yellow garbage can?

DEEP DIVE RECYCLING GARBAGE CAN We at flustix have collected 14 questions for you, which also come up again and again when it comes to waste separation in our own household. Do I have to rinse yogurt pots or tomato cans? No, packaging does not have to be rinsed out before disposal. That would only…

read more
Is organic waste still organic if it’s in a plastic bag? 1920 768 flustix

Is organic waste still organic if it’s in a plastic bag?

Here you will find all lists for your waste from paper, glass, organic waste – and the residual waste. The list with all recyclables for the yellow garbage can you can find here PAPER BIN For all packaging and non-packaging made of paper, cardboard or carton, however, excluding food waste. CORRECT Packaging: Roll, butcher and…

read more
Fire hazard! Lithium batteries have absolutely nothing to do in the trash bin 1920 768 flustix

Fire hazard! Lithium batteries have absolutely nothing to do in the trash bin

RECYCLING Simply disposing of a broken smartphone or a defective cordless screwdriver in the trash is a fire hazard. Most of the electrical appliances we use every day contain lithium batteries. Although they are extremely powerful, they can easily catch fire if handled or disposed of incorrectly. For this reason, the general rule is: never…

read more
Editorial to the July newsletter 150 150 flustix

Editorial to the July newsletter

Dear people, a heated discussion has flared up about the German recycling system. It was triggered by the ARD documentary “Die Recyclinglüge” (The Recycling Lie), which was broadcast in mid-June. The two authors Tom Costello and Benedikt Wermter take an all-round look and come to the conclusion: the recycling industry has failed. Our efforts to…

read more
Anti-greenwashing law: Will false eco-promises soon be banned? 1920 768 flustix

Anti-greenwashing law: Will false eco-promises soon be banned?

Climate-friendly and sustainable – what exactly is that? In Germany, almost any product or service can be advertised with green slogans, regardless of whether it has an impact on the environment. This will soon come to an end: the EU is working on an anti-greenwashing law. It’s about time. Because the green promises of some…

read more
Supermarkets trick disposable bag ban with even more plastic 1920 768 flustix

Supermarkets trick disposable bag ban with even more plastic

Cheat bags Plastic bags have been banned in supermarkets, discount stores and drugstores since January 1, 2022. But not all retail chains are complying – instead, they supply their customers with cheat bags, which contain even more plastic than those bags we have been using for decades. The practices uncovered by the German Environmental Aid…

read more
Slow Fashion thanks to Secondhand 820 312 flustix

Slow Fashion thanks to Secondhand

Innovations recommended by the flustix experts Secondhand instead of buying anew or throwing away. If you don’t feel like digging through flea markets, you can browse through the closets of like-minded people from the comfort of your own home using an app or make room for new textile treasures in your own closet. In addition…

read more
Impact Startup against Greenwashing 820 312 flustix

Impact Startup against Greenwashing

Innovations recommended by the flustix experts This startup also takes on some big players: Flip checks sustainability promises and uncovers cases of greenwashing. The goal: Flip’s research, which appears in media such as ZEIT and SPIEGEL, is intended to give consumers a better overview of the sustainability jungle. The young startup’s biggest scoop is the…

read more
Editorial to our newsletter 150 150 flustix

Editorial to our newsletter

Dear Readers, A few days ago, several media reported on microplastics found in the Antarctic. The feeling quickly sets in with a report like: heard it all before, read it all before. Unfortunately, this news release is about a new quality of horror: the microscopic plastic particles were stuck in the fresh snow of the…

read more
“Climate neutral”? German Environmental Aid takes action against false seals 1920 768 flustix

“Climate neutral”? German Environmental Aid takes action against false seals

Consumer deception through Greenwashing The label “climate neutral” is currently one of the most common sales arguments for a whole range of everyday products. Especially on cosmetics, hygiene and laundry products, there are numerous self-made seals that do not deliver what they promise. This could now be a thing of the past: The German Environmental…

read more
How good are solid soaps, shampoos and dishwashing bars? 1920 768 flustix

How good are solid soaps, shampoos and dishwashing bars?

The big flustix test Every person in Germany empties more than 25 bottles of shower gel and shampoo every year. Then there are dozens more tins, tubes and bottles of toothpaste, shaving cream or body lotion. What remains is an unimaginable mountain of plastic waste. That’s why more and more manufacturers are shifting to solid…

read more
It is ridiculous that waste exports save the German recycling quota! 1920 768 flustix

It is ridiculous that waste exports save the German recycling quota!

Attitude with Biss Imagine you discover a valuable painting in your grandparents’ attic. What do you do with it? Easy. Because it’s all dusty, covered in cobwebs, and has some cracks at the corners of the frame, you take it to the trash and even pay money for it to go to the trash compactor…

read more
Plastic in food – This is how you stop the danger already while shopping 1920 768 flustix

Plastic in food – This is how you stop the danger already while shopping

The health hazard is invisible – and is now present in countless foods. Chemicals from plastic packaging can “migrate” into the products. Fatty and sour foods are particularly at risk. We explain which substances are dangerous – and show you the cleverest alternatives. Yogurt and lemonade, sausage and vegetables, oil and gummy bears – most…

read more
Unpackaged! Even large supermarkets entice with naked food 1920 768 flustix

Unpackaged! Even large supermarkets entice with naked food

Trend Just a few years ago, “unpackaged stores” felt more like something for super-ecos. In the meantime, things have changed. Some organic chains already offer numerous products such as nuts, pasta or muesli as unpackaged goods. Now large supermarkets are also getting in on the trend. The flustix editorial team presents the new unpackaged concepts…

read more
Small tabs with great effect 1920 768 flustix

Small tabs with great effect

flustix partners He describes himself as a “rebel”: With his Biobaula brand of washing and cleaning tabs, Markus Winkler is one of the pioneers in what in German is known as the WPR industry (washing, cleaning and purification products). In an interview with flustix, the 44-year-old reveals how he wants to start an ecological revolution…

read more
Give us today our daily plastic 1920 768 flustix

Give us today our daily plastic

What do plastics do in the fields? Nothing, according to common sense. Nevertheless, more than 13,200 tons of plastic and other synthetic materials end up in our fields every year. Yet every year, more than 13200 tons of primary plastics and other synthetic materials end up in our fields due to their use in agriculture.…

read more
Editorial to our first newsletter 150 150 flustix

Editorial to our first newsletter

Dear readers, imagine for a moment that the yogurt tub or the packaging for the cold cuts in the refrigerator were made of gold. Would you just throw them in the trash after eating the contents? That sounds crazy! You handle such a valuable raw material as gold with care, keep it safe, make sure…

read more
Attitude with Biss 1920 768 flustix

Attitude with Biss

Why does the state promote new production of plastic with almost one billion euros? This must stop, demands Malte Biss, founder and CEO of flustix. Here he explains what effects the hidden subsidies have. By Malte Biss Bundesumweltministerin Steffi Lemke will mit einer Plastikabgabe die Nachfrage nach Rezyklaten, also nach Produkten, die aus recycelten Materialien…

read more
Carrots “drink” plastic from the ground 1920 768 flustix

Carrots “drink” plastic from the ground

Alarming research findings Today, scientists all around the world are researching how microplastics affect our lives. Unfortunately, it has long been a certainty that we ingest plastic particles every day when we eat and drink. With fish and shellfish, salt, or water from plastic bottles, the particles are smuggled into the body. Now, in several…

read more
Summer time, digging time 1920 768 flustix

Summer time, digging time

Here is how you can protect your garden and balcony from plastic invasion The summer sun enlivens nature, and gardens get mowed, planted, and sown again. Gardening is the Germans’ second favorite hobby (after shopping). Millions of garden owners dig for relaxation, grow vegetables, or work from home in a green office. But what feels…

read more
Deceptive bio-plastic packaging: the name delivers less than it promises 1920 768 flustix

Deceptive bio-plastic packaging: the name delivers less than it promises

Since there are garbage bags, packaging and dishes made of bioplastics, they often end up in the organic waste, on the compost or in the forest. That sounds logical, as bioplastics decompose completely. Or do they? Theoretically yes – but in practice mostly not (yet). There are four major problems, including the fact that there…

read more
7 tips on dealing with fast fashion 1920 768 flustix

7 tips on dealing with fast fashion

With every breath we take, we absorb microplastics from our clothing. It makes its way through our bodies mercilessly. Researchers have now detected microplastics in our blood, our lungs, and even in the placenta. The effects on health have not yet been sufficiently researched. This makes it all the more important to check your own…

read more
The invisible danger: Millions of microfibers are released into the environment with every wash cycle 1920 768 flustix

The invisible danger: Millions of microfibers are released into the environment with every wash cycle

Microplastics from cheap clothing: The contamination of our planet begins in our closets. Every time we use a T-shirt or jeans, microfibers get released. Especially when we wash them: Up to nine million microscopic fibers enter wastewater treatment plants through a normal wash cycle. Half of these are filtered out – the rest end up…

read more
Enough with disposable fashion! EU declares war on fast fashion 1920 768 flustix

Enough with disposable fashion! EU declares war on fast fashion

Fast fashion is one of the biggest environmental sins of industrialized nations: Every second, a truckload of textiles is disposed of in waste incineration plants. This will soon be a thing of the past: The EU is tightening the ecological requirements for textiles. From 2030, only high-quality, recyclable textiles produced under fair conditions may be…

read more
Innovations recommended by flustix experts 820 312 flustix

Innovations recommended by flustix experts

Too Good To Go – the food savers Reports of rising food prices reach us daily, and some products such as flour and sunflower oil are missing from supermarket shelves. The news from Africa is far worse: aid organizations are sounding the alarm about the threat of new and greater famines. The war against Ukraine…

read more
Innovations recommended by flustix experts 1920 768 flustix

Innovations recommended by flustix experts

Vacuum cleaner for tire abrasion Every car ride contributes to the contamination of our environment through microplastic waste: studies hold tire wear responsible for half of the microplastics in our oceans. A London-based start-up has declared war on this dangerous pollutant – with an innovation that is as simple as it is ingenious: a tire…

read more
UK plastic tax: No mercy for bioplastics 1920 768 flustix

UK plastic tax: No mercy for bioplastics

Great Britain is stepping up the fight against the plastic flood: on April 1, the plastic tax came into effect in the United Kingdom. flustix founder Malte Biss explains what this has to do with bioplastics and who will end up paying the bill – here in the blog, and in an interview with the…

read more
Microplastics in cosmetics – only one seal guarantees safety 3840 1536 flustix

Microplastics in cosmetics – only one seal guarantees safety

“Free of microplastics” or “Without microplastics” are the words we see more and more frequently on cosmetics, hygiene, and body care products. With the increased consumer demands for sustainability and health, the number of alleged seals promising absence of microplastics is also growing. The editorial team of the TV knowledge magazine “Galileo” (Pro7) has investigated the…

read more
Recycling seal: now also for metal, glass, construction materials and wood 1920 768 flustix

Recycling seal: now also for metal, glass, construction materials and wood

Bringing used glass to the container has become a part of everyday life and already seems natural to us. But what actually happens to the valuable materials? One example: a bottle becomes a bottle again – and this will also be visible in the future. With its “Recycled” seal, flustix now certifies not only plastic…

read more
UK Plastic Tax Fact Sheet 2084 834 Flustix

UK Plastic Tax Fact Sheet

The UK Plastic Tax came into force on April 1, 2022. The aim of the new plastic tax is to create an economic incentive for the use of recyclates and alternative, plastic-free materials. This is intended to strengthen the circular economy and reduce the burden on the environment. Less waste, fewer landfills, fewer emissions, according…

read more