Plastic pollution is becoming more and more of a problem around the globe. New and innovative ways are being developed and fleshed out in order to combat this issue that is now worldwide. One interesting and new solution is The Plastic Bank, which was formulated by David Katz. The Plastic Bank is the world's only organization that monetizes plastic wastes while providing an opportunity for the financially disadvantaged to trade and collect plastic waste as a currency.
The overall goal of The Plastic Bank is to end the ocean plastic pollution problem, while hoping to aid end limit extreme poverty by developing a currency for the poor. This bank aims to be a worldwide chain of stores that offers a variety of items and supplies for purchase, such as cooking fuel and even school tuition. The items in this bank are available to be purchased by exchanging plastic garbage. Once handed in, this garbage can then be sorted and shredded and eventually sold to brands who can reuse the plastic when manufacturing their own products.
David Katz recently did a TED Talk where he discussed this bank and the steps required to close the loop in the circular economy. "Preventing ocean plastic could be humanity's richest opportunity," Katz says in the talk. Join Katz in this effort to end global ocean plastic waste today. Any small part can help.