Save the oceans - Possible with the Blockchain?

Plastic waste in the oceans is one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time. Nevertheless, especially the states of the world have not found any way to deal with the topic - also because nobody feels responsible for them. The Plastic Bank initiative introduces a solution based on blockchain technology. Could that be the salvation of the oceans?

Blockchain technology is already the focus of public authorities, companies and NGOs in many areas. Environmental organizations, on the other hand, are often less than euphoric about decentralized technology. This is primarily due to Bitcoin, the first and still the most significant application of blockchain. The mining process, which processes transactions and creates new units of Bitcoin, consumes a great deal of energy. Depending on the type of energy production, this represents a burden on the environment.

The proposal that Shaun Frankson and David Katz presented at the Me Convention in Stockholm on September 5 could change that. The two Canadians are the founders of the Plastic Bank initiative, which has set itself the task of saving the oceans. To do this, they want to use blockchain technology to gradually reduce the plastic waste that has spread through the oceans in recent decades through human consumption.

Environmental protection and poverty reduction in one: Blockchain makes it possible

Founded in 2013 in Vancouver, Canada, by environmental activists Shaun Frankson and David Katz, Plastic Bank worked to stop the flow of plastic into the oceans. It wants to persuade a billion people to actively combat the production of plastic waste. The name Plastic Bank is not chosen by chance - Frankson and Katz want to monetize plastic waste in the style of a bank. The collectors of plastic garbage should be made aware of the value of the property, by being compensated for the amount of garbage with an equivalent value.

At this point, the blockchain solution comes into play. To clarify the value of the plastic, collectors should be able to convert it into blockchain-based assets or tokens. To get the most out of the environmentalists, the reward for plastic waste is well above the usual retail price. The exchange of plastic waste in money helps with recycling. At the same time, the poverty of the local population is being combated, especially in countries and regions that are particularly affected by littering with plastic waste.

Everyone can help make the world a little bit better

The initiative wants to make the plastic purchases with a premium on the recycled product. This article is titled "Social Plastic and thus marked as supported by the Plastic Bank". Anyone who buys a product that contains a piece of social plastic thus not only helps to save the oceans, but also to fight poverty. The more people participate in the campaign, the higher the incentive for collectors of plastic waste.

The initiative has already achieved initial success. In 2015, the project started in Haiti, and a year later expanded its field of work to the Philippines. In order to put the project on sound footing, Plastic Bank therefore worked together with the US technology group IBM. So you could benefit from IBM's blockchain expertise and build your own blockchain application on the LinuxOne system.