6 projects using the power of blockchain to solve the plastic pollution crisis
Plastic waste has become one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time. From single-use plastics to discarded packaging, our planet is drowning in plastic pollution. It is estimated that 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic have been produced since the mass production of plastics began six decades ago, with only 9% of it being recycled. With such a small amount being recycled, it’s no surprise that so much of it ends up in the world’s oceans, rivers, or other important ecosystems. In fact, by 2050, it is estimated that there will be more plastic in the oceans (by weight) than fish! The consequences of this staggering amount of plastic waste are far-reaching, impacting not only our environment but also our health and the well-being of future generations.
The global production and consumption of plastic has witnessed an exponential rise in recent decades, driven by its versatility, durability, and low cost. However, this convenience comes at a steep price. Plastic waste takes hundreds of years to decompose, releasing harmful chemicals and microplastics into the environment. It poses a severe threat to marine life, with millions of fish and birds dying each year due to entanglement or ingestion of plastic debris.
As awareness about the detrimental effects of plastic waste continues to grow, individuals, communities, and governments are striving to find sustainable solutions to tackle this global crisis. Technology has always been at the forefront of the search for solutions, with blockchain emerging in recent years as a powerful fool to help combat plastic pollution.
So, in this article, we highlight 6 organizations using the power of blockchain to help end the plastic pollution crisis.
1. Plastic Bank
Plastic Bank uses a blockchain-based platform to incentivize plastic clean-up from the ocean by rewarding individuals in their clean-up efforts. Members can exchange their plastic collected from the ocean for income and life-changing benefits such as access to insurance and social assistance, and banking services. By incentivizing the collection of plastic waste, this truly regenerative project not only helps keep waste out of the ocean, but also provides a source of income for people in need.
2. Plastiks
Plastiks aims to “connect people and businesses all around the world to fight plastic pollution by supporting plastic recovery activities through technology and NFTs.” They operate an NFT Marketplace with sales of NFTs supporting verifiable plastic recovery efforts in hard to reach areas. They recently partnered with prominent Football Team FC Barcelona on a collaborative NFT project, “Unleash Your Passion”, a series of collectible NFT trading cards, with proceeds supporting four plastic removal projects in Kenya, India, and Chile.
3. ReSea Project
ReSea is using blockchain to track and certify plastic removal from the ocean by documenting the journey of the plastic from point of removal to disposal at the waste bank. Local collectors use their smartphones to enter data at each step up of the cleanup process to a secure blockchain system, ensuring auditability of the data by their partner DNV. Since January 2021, ReSea has removed over 2 million kg of plastic from the ocean, equivalent to over 100 million plastic bottles!
4. Circulor
Circulor is using blockchain technology to create more sustainable, ethical, and transparent supply chains which can effectively track the lifecycles of materials such as plastics and EV batteries, resulting in more responsible and closed-loop recycling systems. By enabling the greater reuse and recycling of raw materials, it can help minimize the reliance on new plastics, ultimately reducing the amount in landfills and marine ecosystems.
5. Circularise
Circularise is a “leading blockchain platform that provides digital product passports for end-to-end traceability and secure data exchange for industrial supply chains.” Their blockchain “product passport” is being used by plastics suppliers to collect and aggregate data on-chain which can be provided to customers, auditors, and regulators. By verifiably tracking information related to plastics production and consumption, it can help individuals and governments hold corporations accountable, while allowing these companies to use supply chain data to improve sourcing decisions and reduce waste.
6. Empower
Empower is a “digital platform for a decentralized, transparent, and fair circular economy.” Their Plastic Credits program allows organizations to fund plastic removal activities around the world, while creating an income for marginalized communities. Through this program, local collectors clean up plastic and document it with photographic evidence which is stored on-chain, producing a Plastic Credit. These collectors can then sell their plastic credits on the Empower Portal, at which point they are verified and made available for sale to buyers, with the proceeds going back to the collectors minus a small platform commission.
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