Stop plastic pollution
Climate action with clean oceans
Climate action with plastic-free oceans
Over 8 million tonnes of plastic waste end up in the ocean every year - one dumper truck every minute. At this rate, it is predicted that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the sea.
Particularly in developing countries, enormous quantities of plastic waste are produced through packaging and the lack of adequate waste disposal infrastructure. This waste collects on land and quickly makes its way into the sea through rivers and wind.
This project approaches the problem through the tag line ‘money for plastic.’ Waste collectors in Haiti, Indonesia, and the Philippines can earn an income by collecting waste and exchanging it at Plastic Bank branches for money as well as food, drinking water, mobile phone credits, cooking oil or even school fees. The exchange value is greater than the actual market value of plastic, meaning locals can live off the exchange.
This project therefore prevents plastic from entering the sea. It is recycled and processed into social plastic, which is recycled into new products, both ecological and socially sustainable.
Contribution to the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs)
No Poverty
Members receive a fair & stable income for the plastic they collect.
Zero Hunger
Every citizen can exchange collected plastic into fresh food.
Good Health and Well-Being
Depending on location, members can redeem plastic for first aid kits, health insurance, or other needs.
Quality Education
In Haiti members can use plastic to pay for their child’s school tuition. A zero-tolerance policy on child labour is supported by Plastic Bank's commitment to keep children in school.
Clean Water and Sanitation
Members can exchange plastic for clean drinking water. Corporate partners help to provide soap, shampoo and other sanitation products.
Affordable and Clean Energy
Members can exchange plastic for portable solar-powered lamps, which double as battery packs that can charge phones and other electronics.
Decent Work and Economic Growth
Plastic Bank has created jobs for 2,300 collectors in the world's poorest countries, enforcing strict policies to uphold labour and human rights.
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
In regions that lack integrated disposal infrastructure, Plastic Bank connects local transporters, plastic processors, freighters, and other industry members to create a circular recycling industry.
Reduced Inequalities
Every member can open a secure digital banking account - often the first bank account in their lifetime - without fear of corruption or theft.
Sustainable Cities and Communities
Sustainable, circular economies replace the linear, wasteful models currently in place in developing regions.
Responsible Consumption and Production
Social Plastic reduces the demand for virgin plastic.
Climate Action
Healthy oceans are vital to stabilizing the climate; the wind park in the Philippines generates verified Gold Standard emissions reductions.
Life below Water
More than 1,000 tons of plastic collected in 2018 that not entered the oceans, thus protecting marine life including microorganisms and threatened species.
Partnerships for the Goals
Plastic Bank has been recognized at the United Nations Climate Change Conference as a leader in upholding the Sustainable Development Goals.
How do clean oceans contribute to climate protection?
The ocean stores a quarter of the CO2 from the atmosphere and even 93.4 percent of the heat caused by the greenhouse effect - making it a major brake on climate change. Warming, overfishing, pollutants and waste endanger this balancing function. The Plastic Bank prevents plastic waste from entering the sea and thus indirectly protects the climate. Because there are no certified emission reductions, ClimatePartner supports the Plastic Bank in combination with a Gold Standard climate protection project, a wind farm in the Philippines: www.climatepartner.com/1091. With every ton of CO2 we compensate 10 kg of plastic waste.