This data is live from Alchemy

Our proprietary blockchain-secured platform

Data last verified: Wednesday, 04/24/2024

Ocean-bound plastic

Plastic Bank operates under the global standard defined by Jenna Jambeck. Ocean-bound plastic is defined as plastic that has not yet found its way into the ocean but is classified as "mismanaged waste". That is, plastic that is not being (formally) collected, is not likely to be collected, and is found within 50km of an ocean-bound waterway or coastal area.

Community Members

Individuals within a recycling community who collect plastic and exchange it at a Plastic Bank collection branch for secure income and life-improving benefits.

Equivalent 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)

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.

Commit to your relationship with the Earth

Sign the Letter to Earth below to serve as a reminder of your pledge. At the end of Earth Month, we’ll celebrate your commitment by:

  • Collecting a kilogram per signatory from our communities in the Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil, or Egypt, up to 10,000 kilograms.
  • Sharing the letter with the United Nations Environmental Programme for consideration and support of recycling in coastal communities with high rates of ocean-bound plastic pollution and poverty.
You signed with 600 people

Help reach and rally more humans who want to be the change they seek

Together, let’s invest in leaving the Earth better than we found it for the ones we love.

We’re on a collective journey in our relationship with the Earth, one that takes each and every one of us.

It’s time we in invest in that relationship, and begin to live in harmony with all life on this planet. Let your pledge mark the beginning of a change in the way you approach, consume and help recycle plastic. Together, let’s invest in leaving the Earth better than we found it, for the ones we love.

A Letter to Earth

Dear Earth,

I don’t know if it’s the rain that helps forests grow, or is it the forests that call upon rain? I do not know if the seasons bring about the annual migration - from dragonflies to whales - across your hemispheres, or is it the migration that shepherds the change of seasons?

But I do understand the interrelatedness of it all, and through it, of my relationship with you.

If I look at the abundance you have provided humanity, the service you have offered to all life, and the fruits you continue to bear for generations to come, I see that you have only been giving and seeking nothing in return.

It is a right you didn't claim, and a responsibility I didn't realize.

It is time I confessed what I have unearthed, to you: you can live without me, but I cannot live without you.

I pledge to invest in my relationship with you. To care for you as you have cared for me and my loved ones. I may not be perfect. I might falter and misunderstand what I should do for you. But I will not stop trying. I will not give up on you, or take you for granted.

I pledge to become the much-awaited change that I seek. To change the way I approach, consume, and recycle your material resources. To reveal the value in all things, as the truth is that waste is an illusion of the human mind.

I pledge to gather us all together to see the beauty you are and create a future where no material is waste and no human is wasteful.

I pledge to raise a generation that fosters this relationship. A generation that finds pride and glory in living harmoniously with you and all living beings.

I pledge to return home, to you.

Our partners stopping ocean plastic with us

Henkel
Advansa
ScanCom
Carton Pack chooses Social Plastic®
ClimatePartner
CooperVision
weDo/ Professional
Green Chef
Lillydoo
Reckitt
Davines
SEINZ®
Alcon
Greiner Packaging
Dr Brown’s

Our impact to date

49,370
plasticbank communityCommunity members
122,783,596 kg
plastic stopped by plasticbankPlastic stopped
553
plasticbank membersRecycling communities

Support collection communities

Plastic pollution and poverty are intertwined. Plastic Bank empowers communities to use plastic waste as currency for access to secure income and life-improving benefits. This incentivizes collection, helps to alleviate poverty, and gives new life to old plastic for reintegration into products and packaging.

We call this Social Recycling, and you can be part of it!

Invest in your relationship with the Earth

Anyone can help stop ocean-bound plastic. Contribute, track your impact, and save the Ocean

Choose your monthly contribution

Receive a digital certificate to save, post, and share with your friends

Stopping Ocean Plastic

$1.00 USD

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SKU: PBINDVO Category:

Description

Stopping Ocean Plastic – Monthly

$1.00 USD / month

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SKU: PBINDVM Category:

Description

Have a small business? Join our Supporter Program.

Your estimated impact ($40):

  • 40.0 kg

    of plastic
  • 2,000

    bottles stopped

Start your journey

Stopping plastic from entering the ocean made easy by choosing how many kilograms of waste you want our communities to stop from polluting the ocean for just US $1 per kilogram.

Share your impact

After you place your order, you’ll receive a digital certificate that verifies your impact. Frame or share it on social media to inspire others to get involved!

Keep it going

You can choose to be a one-time contributor, or go for our monthly subscription to stop a fixed amount of ocean-bound plastic waste pollution.

plastic footprint calculator

Ever wondered how much plastic you consume?

Use our Plastic Footprint Calculator to get an estimate of your annual plastic consumption.

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