Want to go deeper? Visit Plastic Bank (company).
For further informationMaking plastic worth collecting before it reaches the ocean.
Every exchange is logged the moment it happens, so each contribution maps to a verified collection. Brands like SC Johnson, Coca-Cola Philippines, and Acer fund collection to match the plastic they use, building a circular economy around recovered material.
Plastic Bank, a social enterprise founded in 2013 in Vancouver, Canada, with operations across Indonesia, the Philippines, Brazil, Egypt, Thailand, and Cameroon.
A global bottle-deposit program: collectors in vulnerable communities gather ocean-bound plastic and exchange it at local branches for income, food vouchers, health insurance, and school supplies, all tracked on a blockchain platform.
Active since 2013. As of June 10, 2026, about 9.8 billion bottles had been exchanged for income by 64,920 collectors, totaling more than 196 million kilograms of plastic recovered.
Source: Plastic Bank newsletter, June 2026 (all-time data as of June 10, 2026)
Collection branches operate in coastal and urban communities across Indonesia, the Philippines, Brazil, Egypt, Thailand, and Cameroon, where plastic pollution and poverty are highest.
Most ocean plastic starts as land-based waste in places with weak waste infrastructure. Making plastic valuable at the source stops it before it enters rivers and the sea, while paying collectors directly.
Want to go deeper? Visit Plastic Bank (company).
For further information