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This data is live from our blockchain-secured Alchemy Platform

Data last verified on Alchemy™: Wednesday, 05/24/2023

Ocean-bound plastic

Ocean-bound plastic has not yet found its way into the ocean. This represents plastic that is found on the ground within 50 kilometers of a waterway or coastal area, and is otherwise unlikely to be collected.

Bottles Stopped

The amount of ocean-bound plastic collected and recycled in our recycling communities converted into bottles. Conversion rate is 50 bottles per kg (the average weight of a 500mL bottle is ~20g)

Community Members

Individuals within a recycling community who collect plastic and deliver it to a collection point in exchange for collection benefits.

Recycling Communities

Community of plastic collectors living within 50 kilometres of ocean-bound waterways involved in plastic collection and its exchange at Plastic Bank collection points.

Alchemy™

Alchemy is the blockchain platform that powers the Plastic Bank app. It enables fully traceable recycling processes, secures income for recycling community members and tailors impact reports for our stewards.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about Plastic Bank.

Alchemy™

 
How do you use blockchain?

Plastic Bank utilizes a GDPR (data privacy & security) compliant, hybrid blockchain in which the key transaction data is stored in the blockchain and securely synced to Alchemy’s private database. 

The energy efficiency is maximized by using Alchemy’s proprietary system rules to approve and secure transactions and data visibility, which eliminates the need for mining or other high energy usage consensus protocols common to public blockchains.

This hybrid solution ensures near real-time efficiencies, with GDPR compliance at the lowest energy cost possible while maintaining the immutable trust and security of blockchain.

How do members make sure their plastic collections are recorded properly by the collection branch?

Collection community members can view a record of their transactions in the Exchange History tab on the PlasticBank® App account which reflects a real-time recording of transactions between the collection member and the collection branch.

In addition, Plastic Bank’s ever-growing Alchemy platform and internal auditing processes contain a number of safeguards to ensure that the right people are paid the right amounts at all times.

Are the personal details of the members and digital tokens safe and secure in the PlasticBank® App?

Alchemy™ and the PlasticBank® app are built with GDPR compliance by design to always ensure the highest level of data security and data privacy. Plastic Bank has a global policy to hold each country of operation to the highest data privacy and data protection standards as set by the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in addition to any localized policies that exist.

Plastic Bank’s Last GDPR audit and compliance certification was issued in March 2022 by Bureau Veratis Certification.

How does PlasticBank® App serve as a means for traceability of collected plastic from the time of exchange all the way to store shelves as products and packaging made with Social Plastic® ?

Plastic Bank can provide real-time, audit-ready traceability for Social Plastic and Plastic Credit Offsets with 18+ age verified registered members. This is enabled through certified PlasticBank® app-enabled locations throughout our supply chain, from input to output, in multiple developing countries at scale.

The PlasticBank® app is used to record the details of every exchange from our registered collection members to our branches, all the way to the processor who ships the materials for manufacturing. When the branch delivers the collected plastic to our processing partner, the processor issues a printed receipt showing the type and volume delivered to them. Alchemy and our Plastic Bank team validates the material received with the app recordings to unlock the bonus payments throughout the collection chain. 

We continuously invest in, and leverage our multi-user, multi-function Alchemy™ technology platform to ensure everything we do is built for trust at scale.