SC Johnson and Plastic Bank have launched a global partnership to stop plastic waste from entering the ocean and fight poverty.

The three-year effort creates recycling infrastructure on a massive scale across five countries and pays residents to collect plastic in exchange for digital savings and rewards.

Once the plastic is collected and exchanged, it will be recycled into the first-ever 100 per cent Social Plastic bottle, which SC Johnson will use for its Windex line beginning in February 2020.

“More than 8 million metric tons of plastic leak into the ocean every year, so building infrastructure that stops plastic before it gets into the ocean is key to solving this issue,” said Fisk Johnson, chairman and CEO of SC Johnson.

“I’m particularly pleased that this program we developed with Plastic Bank helps to address poverty and this critical environmental issue at the same time.”

SC Johnson and Plastic Bank have nine collection centers in Indonesia. Under the new three-year agreement, they will expand to 509 total collection centers and points across several countries including Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam – four of the five countries that contribute most to ocean plastic – and Brazil.

With the global increase in scale that this partnership will bring, Plastic Bank plans to collect 30,000 metric tons of plastic waste over three years.

David Katz, Plastic Bank’s Founder and CEO said following its partnership with SC Johnson the organisation now has  the ability to help close the loop and advance a circular economy while developing infrastructure in the areas where it is needed the most.

“We are eager to expand exponentially and maximize our efforts in cleaning the environment, prohibiting waste from entering the ocean and alleviating poverty simultaneously. There is no better partner than Fisk and SC Johnson – other CEOs should take note.”

Beginning in February 2020, SC Johnson will incorporate 100 per cent recycled Social Plastic collected by Plastic Bank into its iconic Windex line.

The 100 per cent recycled Social Plastic bottle will be incorporated into Windex Original and Windex Vinegar in the United States and Canada.

The company has steadily increased the use of post-consumer recycled plastic in its products and removed excess plastics wherever possible.

• 94 per cent of SC Johnson’s plastic packaging is designed to be recyclable, reusable or compostable. The goal is 100 per cent by 2025.
• SC Johnson uses post-consumer recycled bottles for several product lines.
• SC Johnson removed more than 1.7 million kilograms of plastic from its primary packaging during fiscal year 2018/19.