World's First "Global" Plastic-Offset Scheme Launched by BCDC

LONDON, November 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

- 60% of plastic ever produced still in landfill or our environment

- 13.2bn tonnes of plastic to be in landfill or our environment by 2020

- New scheme will allow individuals and businesses to support projects already-proven to reduce current and future plastic pollution & use

Blockchain Development Company (BCDC) - a member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance - has today announced the launch of the world's first "Global" Plastic-Offset Scheme.

     (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/603806/recycle_to_coin.jpg )

BCDC, through its RecycleToCoin project, is launching the scheme. It will allow; through partners such as the Plastic Disclosure Project (PDP), everyday families and companies all over the world to first calculate and then offset their entire annual plastic footprint. Unlike the often-controversial carbon offset schemes which can seem intangible, BCDC's Global Plastic Offset Scheme will only support projects proven to tackle plastic pollution; while supporting others which will help reuse current and future plastics. Its funding will also be recorded on the immutable blockchain; so, there will be full accountability to all stakeholders.

The projects will include incentivised recycling for consumers and companies, developed to encourage everyone to make the change needed when disposing of plastics which are readily recyclable. BCDC will also include projects to reduce plastic pollution such as those BCDC's partners the Plastic Bank and PDP are involved in.

The BCDC Global Plastic Offset Scheme will also support and operate "New Life Solutions" around the world to divert plastic (both recyclable and non-recyclable) in the future from ending up in landfill or the environment. In the case of non-recyclable plastic; turning that and other types of hard to recycle plastic into new, usable materials.

The current numbers for plastic ever-produced to-date demonstrate the scale of the problem. A study, led by Roland Geyer, an industrial ecologist at UC Santa Barbara^[1], tallies the sheer amount of plastic humans have produced, how it's used and ultimately where it ends up. In total, we have produced 9.1 billion tonnes of plastic, with an astonishing 5.4 billion tonnes of this either currently in landfill. This means that nearly 60% of plastic that has ever been produced has not been disposed of efficiently or recycled. Further to this, this amount is set to increase to 28.7 billion by 2050, with 13.2 billion tonnes either discarded in landfill or remaining in our environment - still equating to a shockingly high, 45%.