This data is live from Alchemy

Our proprietary blockchain-secured platform

Data last verified: Monday, 02/05/2024

1Ocean-bound plastic

Plastic Bank operates under the global standard defined by Jenna Jambeck. Ocean-bound plastic is defined as plastic that has not yet found its way into the ocean but is classified as "mismanaged waste". That is, plastic that is not being (formally) collected, is not likely to be collected, and is found within 50km of an ocean-bound waterway or coastal area.

2Community Members

Individuals within a recycling community who collect plastic and exchange it at a Plastic Bank collection branch for secure income and life-improving benefits.

3Equivalent Bottles Stopped

The amount of ocean-bound plastic collected and recycled in our recycling communities converted into bottles. Conversion rate is 50 bottles per kg (the average weight of a 500mL bottle is ~20g)

4Recycling Communities

Community of plastic collectors living within 50 kilometres of ocean-bound waterways involved in plastic collection and its exchange at Plastic Bank collection points.

Alchemy™

Alchemy is the blockchain platform that powers the Plastic Bank app. It enables fully traceable recycling processes, secures income for recycling community members and tailors impact reports for our stewards.

SC Johnson prevents 40 million kilograms of coastal plastic from entering the ocean or landfill in partnership with Plastic Bank

Partnership empowers collection communities to stop coastal plastic and combat poverty

Plastic Bank collection community member in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Plastic Bank collection community member in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 2, 2023: SC Johnson, an industry-leading manufacturer of household consumer brands such as Windex®, Mr. Muscle®, Glade® and OFF!® celebrates its milestone of stopping 40 million kilograms of coastal plastic – the equivalent of 2 billion single-use bottles – from entering the ocean, in partnership with Plastic Bank. 

For decades, SC Johnson has been at work for a better world by driving sustainability initiatives that will positively impact generations to come. Since 2018, SC Johnson and Plastic Bank have partnered to stop ocean plastic and provide disadvantaged communities new economic opportunities. The partnership has created over 500 collection branches across Indonesia, the Philippines, and Brazil, supporting more than 19,000 collection community members to achieve this milestone.

“We’re proud to partner with Plastic Bank and support recycling infrastructure to stop plastic before it reaches the ocean or landfill,” said Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson. “Reintroducing the captured plastic into products and packaging is key to addressing the ocean plastics crisis. I’m particularly pleased that this program with Plastic Bank helps to address poverty and create a closed-loop supply chain at the same time. It is vital that we continue to find new ways to keep our oceans clean for the sake of future generations.”

Plastic Bank empowers a social recycling movement that stops plastic waste from reaching the oceans and uses it as currency to help alleviate poverty. It identifies vulnerable coastlines across the world that need plastic collection infrastructure and supports local entrepreneurs to establish collection branches. It gathers recycling communities to collect plastic on land — within 31 miles of a coastline or an ocean-bound waterway — that might otherwise end up in oceans or landfills. Collected plastic is exchanged at the branches by community members for secure income and life-improving benefits that help them find a path out of poverty. Collected material is processed into Social Plastic® feedstock for reuse in products and packaging.

“Plastic pollution and poverty are two of the world’s most pressing issues. Our collaboration with SC Johnson enables us to make great strides in tackling these challenges. But we must understand that our milestone is just the dust of the massive amount of plastic left in the environment. We all need to take part in building a world where no material is wasted and no human is wasteful. It is only then that we succeed,” said David Katz, Founder, Plastic Bank.

Since 2019, SC Johnson has been integrating Plastic Bank’s Social [coastal] Plastic® into the packaging of its Windex brand in North America and Mr. Muscle in the UK.


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