Every minute, plastic equivalent to a full garbage truck is dumped into the sea. If it continues, there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans in 2050. David Katz, Founder & CEO of Plastic Bank, had the idea to address the problem of plastic pollution by giving a new view of plastic waste. If the plastic has a value that can be exchanged for money or goods, there are incentives so that it does not remain rubbish on beaches and/or end up in the sea.
Since its inception, Plastic Bank has helped stop ocean plastic while improving lives in collection communities. When people are given the opportunity to become plastic collectors, they get meaningful employment and an income that can contribute to a better life for them. The plastic that is picked is exchanged at a collection branch, a “bank”, and the picker receives life improving benefits. The collected plastic can then be taken to a recycling facility.
To date, Plastic Bank is established in the Philippines, Brazil, Indonesia, Egypt, and is in the process of establishing in Thailand and Cameroon, all of which are hard hit by plastic waste.
In 2021, Tingstad partnered with Plastic Bank and in 2022, we at Tingstad launched new pump soaps and cleaning spray bottles with a Plastic Bank logo on the label. This label means that for each product sold, we will prevent 5 plastic bottles from entering the ocean in collaboration with Plastic Bank. Our hope and wish is that this will generate a good contribution to a better world environmentally and socially.
