AVANT GARDENER
Plastic, with its virtually nonexistent biodegradability is one of the most concerning waste products polluting our planet today. According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Philippines is the third largest source of plastic waste in the ocean worldwide. One organization is trying to, as its slogan goes, “end poverty and stop plastic pollution.”
Plastic Bank is a social fintech whose bottle deposit program helps individual waste collectors augment their income. Started in 2013, it is now present in Indonesia, Thailand, Egypt, Brazil, the Philippines, and Cameroon.
“Our founders, David Katz and Shaun Frankson, believe that plastic in itself, can be the solution to the pollution that it creates. They see it [as] a resource that once we reveal the value... it will find its way back to a supply chain,” says Plastic Bank’s Vice president for Asia Pacific Rene Guarin. “We’re looking at plastic also as a way to gather people… that also shares our advocacies for the Philippines.”
Their process is straightforward. “We work with individual waste collectors [in] the informal waste sector… We help them identify and collect the plastic that is needed. They bring this to a junk shop, which is also our member, and then this junk shop would then bring it to a bigger junk shop that would consolidate all the plastic until it reaches the processor, and then the processor will transform the … collected plastic into an intermediate material… like a flake or a pellet. We sell this to large manufacturing companies who would then use this [as] substitute for virgin plastic,” Guarin explains.
The waste collectors are paid through an app called Alchemy. “It’s really at the core of our business,” Guarin says. “This allows us to keep track of all the transactions. It’s a blockchain-secured platform that records all the volume of plastic collected down to the individual member level. So, from a person where they collected it, what kind of plastic, what volume to what junk shop they deliver it to, and the junk shop’s consolidation… until the plastic finally reaches the processor and then sold to the manufacturer,” Guarin says.
“Now, when the manufacturer… company sells their product using recycled material, there’s a premium to the price, and that premium goes back to the individual collector, and the way we can do that is because our alchemy can manage the traceability…. For every kilogram we have, [there’s] a certain amount that we give back. This augments the livelihood income that they get every day. On top of that, we also provide training, capacity building (such as leadership and financial literacy training), and tools of trade, like push cards and gloves. During the pandemic, we provided them with PPE kits.
“We also provide, we call them social impact programs like insurance during the pandemic. We provided their children with tablets so that they can participate in the long-distance learning program of the DepEd (Department of Education) and now we also have the nutrition and food kits… In the end, what we would like to have are groups that are able to manage themselves, [and] access resources from the community.”
Partner waste collectors have reported their income augmented by anywhere between 20 to 40 percent depending on the country and current market prices.
In the Philippines, the organization operates in most of Metro Manila, as well as in communities in Pampanga, Cavite, and Laguna. It estimates that the organization has recycled six billion plastic bottles worldwide, with at least one billion coming from the Philippines.
The endeavor isn’t just limited to waste collectors. Other concerned citizens can do their part as well. Plastic Bank’s website lists the different ways people can get involved.
Businesses, in particular, can partner with the organization as part of their ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) goals. The organization also holds campaigns in schools on lessening the use of plastic and on proper plastic disposal.
The program has helped waste collectors. “We have stories where our members would use this additional income to augment the purchase of food for the house. Some use it to pay for the education of their kids. And recently, we found out that a couple who owns a junk shop never take it out… That’s their retirement fund. So it [offers them] options that I think were not possible before.”
This is only the beginning. “We’re always open to new partnerships,” Guarin says. “We think that the problem of plastic is really big, and Plastic Bank would like to initiate a lot of engagements and gather different groups of different people to address plastic pollution.”