4 minute read

Plastic Bank Celebrates Stopping its 1 Billionth Bottle of Ocean-Bound Plastic, Partnership with SC Johnson Accounts for Half of the Total

Partnership Also Creates Pathways to Greater Economic Success for Underserved Communities

Racine, Wis., April 6, 2021 – Plastic Bank®, a social enterprise revolutionizing the global supply chain for recycled ocean-bound plastic, announced today it has reached the significant milestone of stopping 1 billion plastic bottles from entering the world’s oceans. Plastic Bank’s global partnership with SC Johnson, an industry leading manufacturer of household consumer brands, has accounted for more than half of this environmental achievement.
 
“At SC Johnson, we are driven to create a more sustainable world where every part of our operation, from sourcing to consumer disposal, leads to an increasingly lighter footprint on our planet today and for future generations,” said Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson. “By joining forces with Plastic Bank, we are building a recycling ecosystem that helps prevent plastic waste from threatening the health of our planet and provides a pathway to greater economic mobility for vulnerable communities. We enthusiastically endorse others to join Plastic Bank in its efforts to create a regenerative plastics economy.”
 
Plastic pollution is one of the most pervasive issues facing our ocean ecosystems and planet today as more than 8 million tons of plastic are estimated to pollute our oceans every year. This pollution harms marine life, human health and food safety. One billion plastic bottles are the equivalent of stopping more than 20 million kilograms of plastic that would have otherwise found its way into the world’s oceans.
 
“Plastic waste entering our oceans is one of our greatest global challenges. At a time when the world is calling for greater responsibility, this significant milestone is evidence of our ability to make deliberate environmental, social and economic impact,” said David Katz, founder and CEO of Plastic Bank. “Our partnership with SC Johnson has been instrumental in transforming Plastic Bank from a little engine to a train that is driving change around the world.”
 
SC Johnson x Plastic Bank: Impact by the Numbers

SC Johnson’s global partnership with Plastic Bank is creating meaningful impact for both people and the planet and accounts for more than half of Plastic Bank’s total volume of collected plastic. To date, the partnership has:

  • Created more than 250 collection points across Indonesia, the Philippines and Brazil since 2018 with plans to expand further to Thailand and Vietnam by 2022.
  • Stopped more than 10.4 million kilograms of plastic, the equivalent of more than 500 million plastic bottles, from disrupting ocean ecosystems.
  • Provided more than 15,000 people with additional income.

In 2019, SC Johnson launched the industry’s first product using 100% recycled ocean-bound plastic in a major home cleaning brand, Windex®, and has since expanded its 100% recycled ocean-bound plastic bottles to its Mr Muscle® brand in the UK and Ireland.  The company’s goal is to collect 30 million kilograms of plastic waste through the partnership by 2022, the equivalent of more than 1.5 billion plastic bottles, from more than 500 collection points across Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Brazil.

In reaching the one billionth bottle milestone, Plastic Bank worked in partnership with more than 17,000 individual collectors across Haiti, the Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil and Egypt. In exchange for collected plastic, collectors receive premiums that help provide basic family necessities such as groceries, cooking fuel, school tuition and health insurance.

The material collected in Plastic Bank’s closed-loop recycling ecosystems is reborn as Social Plastic® – an ethically recovered plastic that protects our oceans and helps address poverty by transferring its value to those who help collect it. Once processed, Social Plastic can be reintroduced into the global manufacturing supply chain for the creation of new products and packaging materials. 

About Plastic Bank
Plastic Bank® builds ethical recycling ecosystems in coastal communities and reprocesses the materials for reintroduction into the global manufacturing supply chain. Collectors 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. The collected material is reborn as Social Plastic® which can be easily reintegrated into products and packaging as part of a closed-loop supply chain. Plastic Bank currently operates in Haiti, Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Egypt. Learn more at www.plasticbank.com.

About SC Johnson
SC Johnson is a family company dedicated to innovative, high-quality products, excellence in the workplace and a long-term commitment to the environment and the communities in which it operates. Based in the USA, the company is one of the world's leading manufacturers of household cleaning products and products for home storage, air care, pest control and shoe care, as well as professional products. It markets such well-known brands as GLADE®, KIWI®, OFF! ®, PLEDGE®, RAID®, SCRUBBING BUBBLES®, SHOUT®, WINDEX® and ZIPLOC® in the U.S. and beyond, with brands marketed outside the U.S. including AUTAN®, BAYGON®, BRISE®, KABIKILLER®, KLEAR®, MR MUSCLE® and RIDSECT®. The 135-year-old company employs approximately 13,000 people globally and sells products in virtually every country around the world. www.scjohnson.com