Henkel and Plastic Bank have opened their first three plastic waste collection centres in Cairo, Egypt. The project is part of Henkel’s successful and long-term partnership with the social enterprise.

The opening of three collection centres in Egypt marks the first step of the commitment to deliver environmental, social and economic impact in the country said Henkel.  Working together, the partners aim to steadily expand their engagement in the coming years and to reach a yearly collection capacity of 5,000 tons of plastic waste in 2023. At the collection centres, people can return collected plastic waste and exchange it for money. This prevents the plastic from entering the rivers and oceans, and at the same time Henkel and Plastic Bank support the local population by improving the lives of collector communities. Plastic Bank reprocesses the material and returns the so-called Social Plastic® back to the value chain – for example in Henkel’s product packaging. Henkel was the first global consumer goods company to partner with Plastic Bank in 2017 and has already launched first product packaging made from Social Plastic in the market.

“Henkel’s commitment to sustainability is deeply anchored in our corporate culture, and an integral element of our strategic agenda for Purposeful Growth. The unique cooperation with Plastic Bank helps us to integrate more recycled plastic into our product’s packaging and contributes to reaching our ambitious targets for a Circular Economy and avoiding plastic waste,” said Carsten Knobel, CEO of Henkel.

“Plastic waste entering the environment is one of the greatest global challenges, and we are well aware of our responsibility as a global consumer goods company. Our collaboration with Plastic Bank is a fantastic example of the power of partnerships to make a positive contribution with both an environmental and social impact,” said Sylvie Nicol, member of Henkel Management Board responsible for Human Resources and Sustainability.  

“We are proud to be partnering with Henkel to expand recycling ecosystems while promoting sustainable packaging solutions,” says David Katz, Founder and CEO of Plastic Bank. “Since the beginning of our partnership, Henkel has helped to collect over 1.7 million kilograms of plastic waste, preventing over 86 million plastic bottles from entering the ocean. With our collection centres in Egypt, we are taking a significant step towards stopping ocean plastic and improving lives on the African continent.”

Plastic Bank establishes recycling ecosystems in countries that still lack adequate waste management infrastructure. Collectors receive a premium for the materials they collect which helps to provide basic family necessities such as groceries, cooking fuel, school tuition or health insurance. The collected plastic is processed as Social Plastic which can be reintegrated into products and packaging as part of a closed-loop supply chain. In Egypt alone, Henkel and Plastic Bank aim to create 1,000 jobs over a two-year period which will directly impact over 4,000 Egyptian citizens through the establishment of a long-term recycling infrastructure, as per the statement.