Partnering with Plastic Bank to Stop Ocean Plastic

By Erin Richards-Kunkel, Senior Director for Corporate Social Responsibility and Strategic Partnerships

We need to start rethinking how to lessen our reliance on plastic if we want humankind to become more sustainable. A recent study on human health and ocean pollution found that every year, about 10 million metric tonnes of plastic garbage enters the oceans, killing fish, marine mammals, and seabirds. More than 80% of the plastic ocean pollution originates on land near developing nations’ coastlines.

Plastic Bank, a social venture that creates moral recycling communities of Ocean Stewards, contributes to lowering the demand for virgin plastic while having long-lasting effects on the environment, society, and the economy. We are grateful to have a two-year cooperation with this group to help eliminate ocean trash.

Herbalife Nutrition hopes to stop more than 180,000 kg of plastic from entering the ocean by 2023 through a partnership with Plastic Bank. Additionally, we’ll work to open up business prospects for Indonesia’s Plastic Bank collection community members, who barter plastic waste for advantages that improve their quality of life at neighbourhood collection branches.

Plastic Bank

By supporting the collecting and recycling of plastic debris, this initiative strengthens Herbalife Nutrition’s dedication to environmental stewardship and helps us fulfil our objective to have 50 million good impacts by the time we celebrate our 50th anniversary in 2030.

“We applaud Herbalife Nutrition for making the moral decision to help protect the ocean from plastic pollution. Ocean Stewardship is opening doors for collection communities all over the world to grow socioeconomically, according to David Katz, the founder of Plastic Bank. “Together, we can empower our collection community members to stop ocean plastic and transcend poverty by providing safe, secure, and traceable sources of money.”

Recycling ocean-bound plastic while bettering the lives of collection community members is the dual goal of Plastic Bank.

Unfortunately, the problem of marine plastic pollution is getting worse. However, by turning plastic waste into money, Plastic Bank’s approach to stop marine debris also helps to reduce poverty.

More than 60 million kg of plastic have been kept out of the ocean thanks to Plastic Bank. Through collaborations with cutting-edge groups like Plastic Bank, we seek to expand our effect.

While reducing the amount of plastic in the oceans is a top goal, creating income opportunities is just as important, especially in areas where plastic garbage is rife. Through moral recycling networks, Plastic Bank encourages people all around the world to collect and stop ocean plastic while assisting in the reduction of poverty. In addition to serving 21,427 neighbourhood residents who live close to dangerous beaches, our partner Plastic Bank is delighted to have prevented the entry of more than three billion plastic bottles into our oceans.

Private industry and charitable foundations

A $8 million cooperation between Gavi, The Vaccination Alliance, and Girl Effect has been established to combat the gender disparities in HPV and other regular vaccine uptake in Tanzania and Ethiopia.

The Global Menstruation Equity Accelerator was established with the goal of advancing gender equality for girls and women through collaborations involving anything from eradicating stigmas to expanding access to period supplies to educating the general public about menstrual health and safe disposal.

The LEGO Foundation donated $25 million to Education Cannot Wait in support of its 2023–2026 Strategic Plan, which included a commitment to gender-transformative, inclusive, and entertaining learning experiences for children affected by catastrophes and protracted crises.