FERNWEH HEIMWEH and Plastic Bank fight against plastic in nature
Together with our partner Plastic Bank, FERNWEH HEIMWEH collects more than 11 tonnes of plastic from nature in the Philippines every year - plastic that can thus no longer end up in the world's oceans. How? Together with Plastic Bank, we make plastic so valuable as a commodity that it is no longer worth simply throwing it away: The social enterprise Plastic Bank pays the population in developing and emerging countries money for their collected plastic waste, which is above the usual market value. The Plastic Bank recycles the material in a recycling plant and sells it on as "social plastic".
About Plastic Bank
The recycling company Plastic Bank works according to a unique approach that we support with full conviction. In the holistic process from collection to exchange, plastic becomes a currency that enables essentials such as food and clothing, but also school education, medical aid or access to electricity. Especially for developing countries without a functioning waste management system, this "trade" is a double opportunity: on the one hand, plastic is prevented from entering the environment, and on the other hand, the population is sustainably supported in their daily survival and in terms of a better future. To date, almost 10 million kilograms of plastic have been collected from nature and handed over at more than 260 Plastic Bank stations in Haiti, the Philippines and Indonesia, among others - many more drop-off points in other emerging and developing countries are planned.
