Interview David Katz

Why did you decide to invest this years of your life on Plastic Bank? In other words, why do you do what you do?

I don´t think that I decided. I think that I was enlightened with it, I think that I needed it. I remember the day when I said “someone should do something about it”, and in that moment I realized who I needed to be, to be that person who could change the world. Plastic Bank it´s a way of living, It´s a life.

How would you explain what you are doing to your children, David?

My children are so inspired by me, they are so proud. They think they have a very famous father (laughs), it´s very nice. They know that what we are doing is helping people come out from poverty and helping to keep plastic from being in the ocean, and for them that’s enough. They don´t need to know how, they know why. 

They pay a price to not have a father at home, but they know that it’s important, and they are happy to pay that price.

And the price that you pay being far from them sometimes?

It’s a big price...but they know that I’m doing this for everybody, they know that I’m doing it for other people’s children, so their children can be proud of their parents.

Like you explained me before, by 2050, there will be more plastic than fishes in the ocean. Do you think that we can stop it? How? What needs to change?

We have to turn of the tap, but we don’t listen to the call. So many people tell to themselves “someone has to do something about it”, and not enough people say “I would do”. That´s what has to change. We have to enlightened the spirit of the person to know that they are the ones who can do it. 

There are too many people who think about the problems in the world. We need more people who act to change the world, to think on the solutions. We need more “solutions minded” people.

And how plastic bank is going to help to make that happen?

We gather together, we bring people together. We create the circular economy in material, in plastic material, to rebuild the value that the individual has, that the brand has, that the plastic has, that the collector has...that the community has. We allow them all they come together to make the change. Many hands, make the work easy.

Social Plastic, as a concept it’s attractive, but what’s tha added value that it has? On the one hand for the brands, and on the other for the society?

Well, don’t forget that this is a business solutions, and that what we are creating brand engagement. We have to focus on it for the business, because it’s business that got us here. So we gotta change the way we were thinking in business, because it was consumerism, it was the desire of everyone to have more, that got us to a point where oceans are polluted, where millions of animals are dying every year. So we need to create a business solution to it as well. 

We can’t just expect people to stop using plastic and be altruistic and think “Oh no, stop using plastic!”, it’s never gonna happen. We have to make it easy to people to make a change, and thats Social Plastic. Social Plastic, in a way, enables the brand to identify with the consumer, and it starts with us. It’s when you, and I, and your friends say “No, I will only buy material that came from the ocean, I will only buy material that does good in the world”. We need to be aware of our decisions, and the impact of our decisions.

And are the brands interested on Social Plastic?

They are so interested, that´s the most exciting part. They listen to the consumer, they are the indication of what the consumer wants. We are where we are today, because the consumer has demanded it, because someone said “ I want cheaper soap”, “I want a more convenient water”... So the businesses went, and provided that.

But this has changed. Now we are saying “No, I want a more sustainable product”, “No, I want a product that does better in the world”. And the more we are, the more that we ask it, the more that we engage the rest of our community and our families and our friends, the faster will happen this change.

Right. But this consumers that we are talking about, are the ones from developed countries, from more developed markets. How is Plastic Bank going to change the life of people from more vulnerable communities that are not consumers of this brands?

That´s the beautiful part right? The beautiful part is that you cannot convice someone against their will. When you don´t have enough food, and you don´t have your children in school, and you don´t have medicine and your child is at home sick, you don´t care about the plastic in the ocean.

But if you can look at the material and say “Oh, there is money in that for me. And if i go and clean, if I go and pick that up, then I can put my child in school, that gives me medicine, that gives me hope”. Then it´s different.

I don´t want them to do it for the planet, I want them to do it for themselves.

If I’m not wrong, plastic has even more value than steel. Why don´t we see it?

Correct. Kilo for kilo plastic is 10 times the price of steel, and steel is one of the most recycled materials of this world. When we look at it, a small block of steel is 50kg, but 50kg of plastic takes a big space, and thats part of the challenge, but it does not diminish it’s value, the value is still there.

Last question David, When would you be ready to let Plastic Bank go?

(Silence) You never let go your children. They become adults on their own, it’s only my role to prepare them to be on their own. But I will never let it go...