São Paulo – Plastic, used in every aspect of contemporary human life, from supermarket bags to car parts, is one of the products that, when discarded, holds little value in the recycling chain. Once in nature, it does not degrade, thus polluting soils, and especially rivers and oceans. With this in mind, Canadian David Katz created Plastic Bank in 2013, a service company that through blockchain technology, tracks the entire journey of plastic from when it is collected by waste pickers to its recycling in processing industries. In 2019, Plastic Bank began operations in Brazil.
The business model is simple: a company, usually a plastic producer or one that uses plastic in its products, hires Plastic Bank to reduce its “plastic footprint.” Plastic Bank, in turn, assesses collection points and waste pickers, generally in the area surrounding the company that hired them, as well as the recycling processing industries. They also handle all compliance according to Canadian standards to ensure there is no child labor or conditions similar to slavery throughout the supply chain.
Next, she s the waste pickers—through associations, cooperatives, or independently—the collection points, and coordinates the logistics to the processing locations. For each kilogram collected, the waste picker receives BRL 0.35 [USD 0.06] from Plastic Bank Brazil—in addition to the amount they already receive from the collection point, which varies depending on the location and time of year. When the material reaches the final point, in the processing industries, it is transformed into “social plastic,” which can be reused in new products and packaging, reinforcing a circular supply chain.
“The name ‘bank’ Comes from the idea of turning plastic into money,” says Ricardo Araújo, the company’s operations director in Brazil. “And the performance bonus creates social impact because the more they collect, the more they earn, and it also impacts nature because more plastic is removed from waste.” According to Araújo, the technology used allows tracking how many people are involved in the process, how much each person contributed, and what happened to the collected plastic, all in a transparent and accessible way.
The name ‘bank’ comes from the idea of turning plastic into money
Ricardo AraújoPUBLICIDADE
From November 2020 to December 2024, the Canadian company has already paid BRL 2.5 million [USD 425,833] to Brazilian recyclers. By ing the program, recyclers increase their income by an average of 30%. The company currently operates in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Espírito Santo. “This year is key for our company as we have projects that’ll expand our operations to the South and North of the country,” says the director.
Among the company’s clients in Brazil are Lord, Davines, Alcon, WeDo, and Reckitt. Globally, SC Johnson and Henkel are some of the main ers of the program. It was at SC Johnson’s request that Plastic Bank came to Brazil, as they wanted to make an impact on their Brazilian production arm. The operation sponsored by Lord, a Brazilian company producing flexible plastic films, alone removed 60 tonnes of plastic in 2024. For 2025, they have doubled their commitment: 120 tonnes will be collected.
All recyclable plastic is used in the program, with each type requiring a different processing industry. It’s up to Plastic Bank Brazil to find the right facilities for each kind of plastic. The payments to waste pickers also vary depending on the material. Currently, PET and PET bottles have the highest value, while plastic film has the lowest. “But like everything else, prices are seasonal,” says Araújo. “When a certain type is in short supply, its recycling value increases.”
Technology
The blockchain used by Plastic Bank is private and comes from a partnership with IBM, featuring hybrid storage on cloud servers (IBM Cloud) and physical servers (IBM in London). The technology allows, through data registration in the app, to monitor the supply chain end-to-end in real-time. With this operation, companies participating in plastic offset programs or using Social Plastic have access to secure and transparent information about the origin and destination of the material. In addition to Brazil and Egypt, Plastic Bank also operates in Indonesia, the Philippines, Cameroon, and Thailand.
Plastic Bank Egypt
The company arrived in the Arab country in November 2020. In less than five years, they have already collected 20 million kilos of plastic from waste, with only 11 ed collection points—in Brazil, there were 30 until the beginning of 2025. According to Ricardo Araújo, Egypt has an advantage over Brazil in of geographic location. “From where they are, they can send the collected plastic to be processed in European countries without spending too much money,” he explains.
PLASTIC BANK NUMBERS
8 billion tons of plastic bottles removed from oceans
57,000 collectors ed in the countries where it operates
448 locations where it operates
7 million kilos collected in Brazil
20 million kilos collected in Egypt
Source: Plastic Bank Brazil
Report by Débora Rubim, in collaboration with ANBA
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Translated by Guilherme Miranda
