Brilio.net/en - The concept is simple and yet, has developed it before this. Thanks to the start-up company the plastic bank, the plastic waste overrunning the poorest regions in the world, such as Haiti, will be collected by the local population then sold to companies that recycle plastic as a lucrative business.
This system is very beneficial for the locals. It is a virtuous cycle that fights against poverty and helps prevent environmental damage caused by plastic all over the world.
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Image viaopportunitylives
In a recent interview, founder David Katz explained that the starting point was the following statement: there is currently more plastic on the planet that we will ever need. It is thus time for entrepreneurs to wrap this vicious cycle up and put an end to the massive waste. There is a business that can be made out of it and this is the purpose of the plastic bank.
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David Katz/Photo:socialplastic.org
There is indeed an incredible amount of material available: on average 350 million tons of plastic are produced each year, and 8 million tons of it will end up in the ocean. In Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, where most people live under the level of poverty, there is a real need for innovation and renewal of the economy. It was thus the perfect place according to Katz to launch the project.
The plastic collected can be exchanged for money or for practical objects such as a gas cooker, Wi-Fi access or hygienic products. The plastic will be sold to a giant industrial such as Unilever or Procter & Gamble that are using recycled plastic in their production. They will also then be able to sensitize their customers thanks to the label social plastic stamped on their products and thus improve their brand image. A win-win concept that is for now very successful and is expanding to new countries such a Peru in the coming months, and hopefully everywhere else soon.