Plastic Bank’s Partnership with METRO
Plastic Bank partners with METRO in the unique METRO Plastic Initiative that unites customers and selected suppliers to reach one common goal – prevent plastic pollution from entering the oceans.
As a leading international wholesale specialist, METRO has a significant role in the distribution of commercial food and non-food products to professional customers in gastronomy and independent retail. Plastic remains especially essential in the packaging of food products to ensure high quality and food safety standards as well as long shelf life. But there are many things that can be improved. METRO is working the 3R-strategy (reduce – reuse – recycle) ambitiously. In collaboration with Plastic Bank and under the umbrella of the METRO Plastic Initiative, METRO and like-minded suppliers with strong track records in reducing their individual plastic footprint, jointly tackle the fourth “R” – recovery. That is why the international, multi-year collaboration with Plastic Bank aims to prevent plastic pollution from entering the oceans at its source. More than 65 million plastic bottles were stopped in the first year of the partnership alone, equivalent to 1.3 million kilograms of plastic waste.
Protecting resources and the planet
Since World Oceans Day 2021, METRO is working with Plastic Bank to bring awareness to the issue of plastic waste in 24 countries. Throughout the initiative, METRO and Plastic Bank will prevent millions of kilograms of plastic waste from entering the world’s oceans each year, while at the same time highlighting suppliers whose product packaging reduces impact on the world’s oceans – including products with sustainable packaging, recycled plastic and Social Plastic®.
The METRO Plastic Initiative also involves METRO’s 16 million professional customers, supporting them in making sustainably conscious purchasing decisions and improving their recycling behaviours – constantly reminding them that “Your customers care, so should you”.
Together, we are stopping ocean-bound plastic, improving lives in vulnerable coastal communities and educating future generations on the positive effects of recycling.
The following brands are collaborators in the METRO Plastic Initiative:
“As part of METRO´s sustainability agenda for achieving climate neutrality in 2040, we want to promote a circular economy and contribute to avoiding plastic waste being disposed of in the environment. Raising awareness and fighting plastic pollution is a big task and needs collective action. The METRO Plastic Initiative puts cooperation in the center of our efforts. We are honored to partner with Plastic Bank to address environmental and social challenges to reduce plastic waste. We are very happy with the growing engagement of our suppliers, which helped us save more than 1,300 tons of plastic from entering the world’s oceans since we started.”
Veronika Pountcheva
Senior Vice President Corporate Responsibility METRO AG
“We’re beyond thrilled to extend our partnership with METRO’s Plastic Initiative for a second year. Together with METRO, we have inspired its customers, suppliers and retailers with choices that helped pave a path out of pollution and poverty for vulnerable coastal communities. We’re continuing our shared impact to stop plastic from entering the ocean.”
David Katz
CEO and Founder of Plastic Bank
Meet Our Global Partners
We’re the environment’s alchemist – turning plastic into gold. Become part of the solution by activating your business with one of our partnership programs
Meet Our Global Partners
We’re the environment’s alchemist – turning plastic into gold. Become part of the solution by activating your business with one of our partnership programs
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