Partnering With Plastic Bank to Help Stop Ocean Plastic
By Erin Richards-Kunkel, Sr. Director, Strategic Partnerships and Corporate Social Responsibility
For humanity to become more sustainable, we must start re-imagining how to reduce our dependency on plastic. According to a new study on Human Health and Ocean Pollution, about 10 million metric tons of plastic waste enter the oceans yearly, killing seabirds, fish, and marine mammals. More than 80 percent of plastic ocean pollution comes from land along the coasts of developing countries.
As a social enterprise that builds ethical recycling communities of Ocean Stewards, Plastic Bank helps to reduce the need for virgin plastic while creating lasting environmental, social, and economic impacts. We are honored to partner with this organization on a two-year partnership to help reduce ocean plastic.
By partnering with Plastic Bank, Herbalife Nutrition aims to prevent over 180,000 kilograms of plastic from entering the oceans through 2023. Additionally, we will help provide economic opportunities for Plastic Bank collection community members in Indonesia, who exchange plastic waste at local collection branches for life-improving benefits.
This effort expands Herbalife Nutrition’s commitment to environmental stewardship by funding the collection and recycling of plastic waste, while also contributing to our pledge to achieve 50 million positive impacts that nourish people and the planet by our 50th anniversary in 2030.
“We commend Herbalife Nutrition for choosing to stand on the right side of history and helping to save the ocean from plastic. Ocean Stewardship is creating opportunities for socioeconomic advancement of collection communities around the world,” said David Katz, Founder of Plastic Bank. “By offering safe, secure, and traceable sources of income to our collection community members, together we can empower them to stop ocean plastic and transcend poverty.”
Plastic Bank’s Double Impact: Recycling Ocean-Bound Plastic While Improving Lives of Collection Community Members
The issue of plastic maritime pollution is unfortunately on the rise. However, Plastic Bank’s solution to stop sea plastic also helps alleviate poverty by making plastic waste a currency.
Plastic Bank has stopped more than 60 million kilograms of plastic from entering the ocean. We hope to scale our impact through partnerships with innovative organizations like Plastic Bank.
While decreasing plastic in the oceans is a big priority, providing income opportunities is equally essential, specifically in communities where plastic waste is rampant. Plastic Bank empowers the world to gather and stop ocean plastic while helping to alleviate poverty through ethical recycling communities. Our partner Plastic Bank is proud to serve 21,427 community members living near vulnerable coastlines, and has already stopped over three billion plastic bottles from entering our oceans.
We are proud to share Plastic Bank’s collection members’ stories:
Ika Somawati, Indonesia
Ika began collecting plastic waste to help clean up her community and, in 2019, joined Plastic Bank to turn her plastic collection into meaningful employment. Ika is helping to support her family and the surrounding nature thanks to Plastic Bank. She even teaches her children about the negative impact of plastic pollution, so they will one day create positive effects on the environment, their communities, and the world.
Danny and Juvy Villanueva, the Philippines
Danny is a fisherman who collects plastic waste floating in the sea and from the nearby beaches during his morning fishing trips. Danny and his wife Juvy clean and sort the plastic, which they take to their local Plastic Bank collection branch to turn the trash into cash.
By directly supporting collection communities in vulnerable coastal areas, partners like Plastic Bank help stop plastic before it reaches the ocean. We’re proud to support Ocean Stewards and look forward to the positive impacts this partnership will generate.
PlasticBank® is a trademark of The Plastic Bank Recycling Corporation. Learn more at plasticbank.com.
