German wholesaler Metro AG has commenced the second year of its multi-year collaboration with Plastic Bank to recover plastic waste before it reaches the oceans and improve the lives of vulnerable communities in coastal regions.
The partners aim to collect around 45 million plastic bottles this year, which is equivalent to 900 tonnes of plastic waste before they enter the oceans.
Since its launch in June 2021, the initiative has collected over 65 million plastic bottles and expects to exceed 100 million this year.
The Metro Plastic Initiative unites Metro customers, suppliers, and Plastic Bank and is being implemented in many countries across the world where the wholesaler operates.
'Collective Action'
Veronika Pountcheva, senior vice-president of corporate responsibility at Metro AG, said, “Raising awareness and fighting the plastic pollution is a big task and needs collective action. We are therefore honoured to partner with Plastic Bank to address environmental and social challenges to reduce plastic waste.
“We are very happy with the growing engagement of our suppliers, which helped us save more than 1,300 tonnes of plastic from entering the world’s oceans since we started.”
The collaboration with Plastic Bank will be renewed successively in Metro stores worldwide with a dedicated commercial campaign across all channels, the wholesaler noted.
Read More: Wholesale Giant Metro Sees First-Quarter Sales Up By A Fifth
Plastic Bank
Plastic Bank, co-founded in 2013 by CEO David Katz and CTO Shaun Frankson, builds and nurtures ethical collection communities where members exchange plastic for benefits that improve the quality of life of coastal communities.
Exchanges are recorded through a blockchain-secured platform that enables traceable collection of plastic, secures income, and verifies reporting, the company noted.
The collected material is processed into Social Plastic feedstock for reuse in products and packaging.
“We’re beyond thrilled to extend our partnership with METRO’s Plastic Initiative for a second year”, said David Katz, founder and CEO of Plastic Bank.
“Together with Metro, we have inspired its customers, suppliers and retailers with choices that helped pave a path out of pollution and poverty for vulnerable coastal communities.”
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest packaging news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
