Incentive collection: in Malaysia gold in exchange for plastic to be recycled

Plastic is gold. Not just a slogan, but a reality in Malaysia, which has already installed 40 machines in the country that provide gold in exchange for plastic to be recycled. The initiative, promoted by the HelloGold company in collaboration with the Klean group, would aim to increase the recycling rate of plastic, which is now invading the oceans and landfills around the planet.

Plastic is gold. Not just a slogan, but a reality in Malaysia, which has already installed 40 machines in the country that provide gold in exchange for plastic to be recycled.

The initiative, promoted by the HelloGold company in collaboration with the Klean group, would aim to increase the recycling rate of plastic, which is now invading the oceans and landfills around the planet.

Malaysians will be able to download the HelloGold app from the Google Play Store or Apple Store and, after creating a valid account, bring the plastic (or aluminum) to one of the machines already installed in the country that will register the equivalent "credits", if necessary convertible into gold.

And they will get 0,00059 grams of gold for each recycled plastic bottle (or aluminum can). All starting in July, when the first 40 machines will be available in the Klang Valley, with the aim of bringing them to 500 throughout the country by the end of the year.

In Malaysia, plastic recycling rates are very low: it is estimated that only 15% of the inhabitants are really active in recycling. Hence the idea (and the government's support) to reward them with something highly valued among Asians, hoping to raise the recycling rate to at least 17,5%.

Incentive collection: in Malaysia gold in exchange for plastic to be recycled

In general, the increase in plastic waste has become a pressing environmental problem for Asian countries. Six of the top ten most "guilty" countries of the uncontrolled abandonment of plastic in the oceans are in fact in Asia, in a ranking sadly led by China, followed by Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. And only the 14% of plastic packaging it is collected for recycling globally, with an estimated annual loss of € 65-100 billion.

"Emerging economies across Asia are dealing with the increase in the use and consumption of plastic - explained Robin Lee, CEO and co-founder of HelloGold - Without adequate infrastructure and recycling practices, the material ends up in landfills. and in oceans that destroy the environment. HelloGold's collaboration with Klean will incentivize people to protect the environment by accessing new financial products such as gold ”.

In fact, metal is considered by many to be a "safe asset", as it is hardly subject to devaluation.

“In our mission to give everyone access to safe and affordable gold products to protect their savings, HelloGold has expanded to millions of online and offline communities through key partnerships such as Axisa's Boost and Aeon Credit. Our latest collaboration with Klean reflects our shared values in using innovative technologies to enable wealth creation for the man in the street".

This at least in theory. Gold is indeed a so-called “safe asset”, but only from an economic point of view. It is in fact often a source of exploitation of labor, as well as the target of wars and real genocides, and not infrequently obtained by illegal mining, theater of human tragedies.

The initiative aims, among other things, to expand to other countries such as Singapore and South Africa, where all this is particularly (and sadly) true. As often happens, not all that glitters is gold, and when it is real gold, it does not really shine with its own light. So a nice idea to encourage plastic, but like everything there is a downside ...

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