[NOTE: The North Drift available until July 28, 2025.]

A German beverage bottle washes ashore on one of Norway’s remotest islands on the Lofoten archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. How did it get there? Did it really come from Germany? Or did a thirsty tourist down the drink and dispose of the bottle in the sea?

Passionate about Norway’s unique scenery, filmmaker Steffen Krones is keen to get to the bottom of the matter: Are rivers in Central Europe connected to the Arctic Sea? Can waste really travel so far?

The filmmaker’s personal curiosity turns into a scientific research project. Together with engineers and well-known scientists, Steffen wants to trace the journey of plastic waste from his home city of Dresden.

The team builds GPS buoys which they launch on the river Elbe. Steffen’s friend Kris follows the experiment from Norway. Will the buoys really wash ashore somewhere in the Arctic? Will GPS data confirm suspicions that there are links between German rivers and the Arctic Circle?

The North Drift takes us on a scientific adventure down the river Elbe across the North Sea to Norway, and shows us that we are part of a cycle in which every one of us has the power to make a difference.

Storyteller airs every Sunday at 1800 GMT.