The Plastic Bank Turns Plastic Waste into Money for the Poor

“We have built out the largest chain of stores in the world for the ultra-poor, where everything in the store is available to be purchased using plastic garbage,” says The Plastic Bank’s founder, David Katz. “Most proudly, we offer school tuition, medical insurance, Wi-Fi, power, sustainable cooking fuel, high-efficiency stoves and everything else the world needs and can't afford.”

While many activists and organizations are working to clean up the plastic already in the oceans, Katz’s plan is to stop plastic from getting into the ocean in the first place.

“Of the plastic that is entering the ocean, it is not surprising that it comes from those countries with extreme poverty,” Katz says. “If you don't have power or food for your children, recycling is not even in the realm of possibility. There is no garbage truck that comes by and picks up your waste. What you have is a stream, a river, a canal and the streets. Most countries have two seasons — the dry season, where everything goes into the river bed and the rainy season, when it's all washed out to sea.”