The Plastic Bank close to 2 billion collection record

Non-profit organisation The Plastic Bank has collected over 1.8 billion PET bottles since its launch in 2013. This represents 37.3 million kg worth of material that is being recycled back into ‘social plastic’.

The Plastic Bank currently operates take-back schemes in big cities across Haiti, The Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil and Egypt. The clean-up efforts have touched the lives of thousands of people by providing jobs, boosting social security and creating a clean living environment. The bottles are recycled into new bottles and other types of packaging.

Company ceo David Katz is proud to say the Plastic Bank’s network in Egypt is growing steadily. Every day, over 540 active collectors bring their plastic to our nine collection centres across Egypt. The same goes for Indonesia, which now has over 1700 active collectors in 13 provinces across the country. Collectors exchange their plastic for bonuses that help to provide basic family necessities such as groceries, cooking fuel, school tuition, and health insurance.

Katz points out that the average consumer produces 84kg of plastic waste every year. This is the equivalent of roughly 4200 single-use plastic bottles.