Plastic pollution equivalent calculator
On this website you have the possibility to calculate the persistence weighted plastic pollution equivalent (PPe) of certain emissions.
Introduction
This calculation considers the redistribution in the environment and decomposition rates. Currently, data is only available for Germany. For other geographic regions, please apply the full methodology. The geographic region especially influences the selection of the degradation rates found in literature based on their data quality scores and the redistribution rate from air to other compartments.
Plastic Pollution Equivalent Parameters
To calculate the persistence weighted Plastic Pollution Equivalent, every emission has to be characterized by five parameters:
Polymer Type
Please choose from the dropdown menu. The type of plastic material used.
Emitted Mass
Please enter the amount in kilograms. This represents the total mass of plastic emitted into the environment.
Shape
Choose between film, fiber, and particle. The time of degradation of the items is determined by the smallest dimension of the item Therefore, we distinguish film, fiber and particle while films exhibit one dimension much smaller than the two others and fibers exhibit two small dimensions and particles three. This means that a PET bottle is best characterized as “film”. Because the wall thickness is much smaller than all other dimensions and is the determining the velocity of degradation.
Characteristic Size
Please enter the length of the characteristic dimension of the item.
Initial Compartment
Select the environmental compartment where the plastic is initially released. The velocity of degradation is different in different environmental compartments. Therefore, the final compartments are calculated a redistribution table in dependence of the polymer type and the initial compartment.
Calculator
Here, you can enter up to five different emissions and calculate their plastic pollution equivalent. After calculation the results are shown and can be compared. Furthermore, the results are compared with other typical plastic emissions.