If you want to package 50 kg of soup, you need 1 kg of plastic but 50 times more glass.вЂќДЄll that extra glass and paper production creates a heavy environmental cost, too. вЂњTo get the same strength of a plastic carrier bag, you need 7 times more paper. Robert challenges us to reconsider negative attitudes to plastics in general. The granulate created from all that will be sold to other producers and used by KIVO. So KIVO and a partner just opened a factory in Kosovo, where 100 employees will sort 10 million kilos of recycled plastics this year. For each product, we have a different recipe.вЂќДЄ key ingredient is accurately sorted recycled plastic. вЂњThe secret is blending the materials in a certain way. Making plastic thinner means that less of it is needed, which ultimately means less waste. Its magazine wrap used to be 22 microns (1 micron = 1/1000 millimetre) thick.

More than 90% of its products are made with downgauged materials, meaning the plastic is made thinner without losing its quality. KIVO may be one of EuropeвЂ™s leading producers of flexible plastics - the kind used to wrap a new T-shirt, for example - but CEO Robert Kwakman thinks of his company as a kitchen. THE CLIENT: Creating a circular loop for plastics вЂњBoats are perfect, because theyвЂ™re social and symbolise finding new horizons.вЂќ вЂњI wanted to create something that would inspire people to take action,вЂќ Marius says. In 2019, Plastic Whale will introduce plastic fishing to London, Hamburg and Frankfurt. The movement keeps growing - new sponsors, new furniture, new partnerships in Asia, more fishing groups. They also branched out to make circular design furniture. In 2018, Marius and his start-up fished 44,000 plastic bottles out of AmsterdamвЂ™s canals. More than 20,000 people have gone plastic fishing with them since 2011. Today, Plastic Whale has a fleet of 10 boats built from plastic waste. But what? In 2011, he created Plastic Whale with the goal to build a boat from AmsterdamвЂ™s plastic waste, and plastic fishing was born. That got him interested in the issue of вЂplastic soupвЂ™.Д«ack home in Amsterdam, he realised that the problem wasnвЂ™t only thousands of miles away, but right there in front of him in the cityвЂ™s historic canals. One morning he was shocked to find a beach fully engulfed in plastic waste after a recent typhoon. Marius Smit had seen a lot of plastic litter during his trip around the world in 2004, but a visit to Borneo changed his life. THE START-UP: Change begins with the first small step

Marius Smit and his start-up Plastic Whale fish plastic out of AmsterdamвЂ™s canals and turn it into boats and furniture. You can also read more about INGвЂ™s stance on plastic. Here, ING takes a look at how a start-up, client, supplier, branch and employee are tackling the problem of plastic waste. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 78 million tonnes of plastic packaging is produced every year, of which 40% goes straight to landfill, 32% of it leaks into the environment, 14% is incinerated and only 14% is collected for recycling. The world produces 1900% more plastic each year today than it did 50 years ago. Plastic waste is one of the biggest environmental challenges facing the world today. Sadly, itвЂ™s also found in the oceans we swim in and parks we play in. ItвЂ™s found in the clothes we wear, the houses we live in, the cars we travel in.

Chewing on plastic water bottle caps