Plastic Bank is a for-profit social enterprise founded and based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that builds recycling ecosystems in under-developed communities in an effort to fight both plastic pollution in oceans, as well as high poverty levels in developing countries.

[1][2] The company allows people living in poverty to collect plastic and trade it for goods and services including school tuition, medical insurance, pharmaceutical access, internet access, and cooking fuel, with the aim of adding more benefits to their program in the future.

[3] They currently have operations in the Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil, and Egypt, with plans to expand into Colombia and Vietnam in the coming years[4][5] Plastic Bank was founded in 2013 by David Katz and Shaun Frankson.

[3][6] Katz initially came up with the concept at an arcade, where people would trade in tickets for prizes.

[14] They also employ “Plastic Bank Ambassadors” to promote environmental education in Haiti[14]