Plastic Bank in Haiti
Images courtesy of Plastic Bank
Plastic Bank® empowers the regenerative society. They build ethical recycling ecosystems in coastal communities, and reprocess the materials for reintroduction into the global supply chain as Social Plastic®. Their members receive a premium for the materials they collect which helps them provide basic family necessities such as groceries, cooking fuel, school tuition, and health insurance. Plastic Bank's certified blockchain platform secures the entire transaction and provides real-time data visualization – allowing for transparency, traceability, and rapid scalability.
So far the HALO community has funded the removal of 1138kg of plastic from coastal communities.
The HALO
HUMANITY
Employs local people to collect plastic
Redirects plastic material into local economies.
LAND
Reduces pollution on land.
AIR
This project does not have a direct impact on the air, check out Eden that does.
OCEAN
Reduces plastic pollution in the oceans.
Protects marine biodiversity from plastic related
death.
This diagram shows the earthrhize HALO for Plastic Bank. The HALO demonstrates our assessment of the project's impact on sustainable livelihoods (H), air quality (A), biodiversity & land quality (L) and ocean quality (O).
We select a portfolio of projects that demonstrate holistic climate action across the HALO.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
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17
This diagram demonstrates how the Plastic Bank performs across different Sustainable Development Goals.
Why we like it
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The project addresses the major issues of plastic pollution. Every day approximately 8 million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our oceans and global plastic production is set to double by 2034. Recent studies have revealed marine plastic pollution in 100% of marine turtles, 59% of whales, 36% of seals and 40% of seabird species examined. 100,000 marine mammals and turtles and 1 million sea birds are killed by marine plastic pollution annually. This project supports a system that clears up this pollution whilst also benefiting the communities most affected by the issue. It scores highly on the biodiversity and pollution elements of our HALO assessment process.
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The project also provides an income for people in poverty whilst reducing pollution in their local environment. Haiti for example is a poverty-stricken nation ranked 170th out of 189 countries on the PPHDI. It is still recovering from a huge earthquake that struck in 2010 and has issues with the drug trade from South to North America. Plastic Bank provides a source of employment that helps people take control of their lives and their homes.
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Plastic Bank creates a circular economy where businesses can buy recycled Social Plastic and use this instead of virgin or standard recycled plastic in new products. We like the innovation, the reduction of raw material use and the part this plays in facilitating systemic change.
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The project is thorough in its approach. It helps to remove plastic from watercourses within 50km of the coastline that would otherwise we be swept to sea, harming marine life. This approach tackles the problem of ocean plastic before it gets there. This is a much more effective way of managing the flood of plastic.
