Plastic Bank

Description

Plastic Bank is a for-profit social enterprise whose model is designed to reduce plastic pollution and alleviate poverty in developing countries. It does this by establishing plastic collection centers where communities exchange plastic waste as currency for income and life-improving benefits such as income, zero-interest loans, education, or other social benefits. Exchanges are recorded through their proprietary blockchain-secured platform, enabling traceable collection, secured income, and verified reporting. The collected material is processed into Social Plastic® feedstock for reuse in products and packaging. The company re-invests the majority of its profits into collection benefits, development and maintenance of recycling infrastructure, and technology development for material traceability for a greater social, environmental, and economic impact.

What Makes it Regenerative?

• enables circularity
• supports ecosystem remediation
• supports coordination & consensus
• affixes value to the undervalued
• creates network effects
• aggregate sustainable industrial feedstock

Business Model

Plastic banks is a for-profit company whose core revenue stream comes from selling their Social Plastic® feedstock to businesses. Companies can incorporate this recycled plastic into their products and packaging, promoting sustainability in their own operations. Plastic Bank also collaborates with various brands that want to support their mission and promote their use of Social Plastic®. These partnerships can involve co-branding initiatives or marketing campaigns. Plastic Bank may also receive grants or donations from organizations or individuals who align with their environmental and social goals.

Risks & Limitations

• Transparency in pricing and distribution of benefits is essential to mitigate fair trade concerns and ensure fair compensation for plastic collectors scaling up the model to significantly impact global plastic pollution is a challenge.
• The long-term effectiveness in alleviating poverty also depends on broader economic development efforts
• Greenwashing concerns associated with brand partnerships, in which brands remain engaged in extractive practices