1 m² of clean riverbank in North Rhine-Westphalia

The oceans regulate the climate, store enormous amounts of CO₂, and produce the oxygen for every second breath we take (Werner & Detloff 2021). They are habitats for millions of animals and plants and are extremely important for the Earth's ecological balance. But the oceans are in danger. Every day, masses of plastic waste are produced, with about two truckloads entering the sea every minute (WWF 2022). That amounts to up to 12.7 million tons per year (Lau et al. 2020). Plastic takes centuries to decompose completely and therefore poses a threat not only to marine animals (Jacobshagen 2025): The introduction of plastic into nature disrupts entire ecosystems by polluting habitats, harming many species, lowering oxygen levels, and permanently disrupting natural cycles (Nava et al. 2024). Since about 80% of the plastic in the oceans originates from land, rivers play a particularly significant role. Once in the water, plastic spreads across the globe (Pösel et al. 2017). Rivers alone carry approximately 1.4 million tons of plastic into the oceans every year (OECD 2025). Therefore, everyone can have a local impact on global ocean pollution by living along riverbanks. Each individual can contribute to reducing packaging waste and preventing its improper disposal. The importance of water protection has also been recognized internationally. The United Nations enshrined Sustainable Development Goal 14, "Life Below Water," as one of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals in the 2030 Agenda (Pösel et al. 2017). This has given it significantly greater political relevance and allows, for example, conservation organizations to advocate more strongly for its implementation. Only in balance can the natural interplay between living organisms and their environment, in which everything is interconnected, function.