David Katz: a recycling pioneer for the health of our oceans
The CEO of Plastic Bank and Call for Code Eminent Judge shares his stance on climate and technology
There is no planet B. The stride toward a greener, cleaner, perennial world starts and ends with how we as people treat it. One individual who is well aware of this concept is David Katz, CEO of Plastic Bank. Behind a long list of esteemed accolades and recognition from the likes of the United Nations, Ernst and Young, and the Paris Climate Conference is a passionate supporter of climate action. As the founder and CEO of Plastic Bank, Katz has been trailblazing a new approach to recycling practices — building an ecosystem that takes plastic out of the ocean and turns it into a currency, underpinned by blockchain technology. This revolutionary angle to reducing the harmful waste that attributes to the climate change threat has been well received by fortune 500 global partners, and a long list of media outlets.
Through developing Plastic Bank from the ground-up, David Katz has gained valuable experience and perspective on the role technology plays in instrumenting innovative ways to tackle global issues, like climate change at scale. As an eminent judge for the 2021 Call for Code Global Challenge, Katz brings his adept expertise to evaluating the submissions from this year’s participants. The Call for Code team was able to catch up with Katz to learn about his take on the integration of technology in supporting humanitarian issues, and why we should all feel empowered to take action against climate change:
What is the most effective way to turn data into action?
When we highlight issues using relevant and trusted data, we can speak about facts instead of hypotheses. Accurate data allows us to witness real change over a period of time. When we can link enough valid data points together over a long enough period, we can monitor the cause and effect of various data inputs. The critical thing is to ensure the data is accurate, reliable, and covers enough time to avoid select data usage that only tells the story in the period observed.
You talk about plastic being a currency like bitcoin: how would you describe the interrelationship between technology, the economy and society?
For us to be successful with climate action, we need to take problems head on and look at the entire system. For instance, all the beach or ocean cleanup initiatives in the world won’t save our oceans from pollution, because the rate at which we are dumping plastics is so high. By looking at the economic value of plastic recycling, and setting up a marketplace that spreads this value to individuals that can collect plastic trash, creates a sustainable model for preventing trash getting into our oceans in the first place. Technology is at the heart of these solutions as it provides the fabric on which we can build sustainable climate solutions.
What advice would you give to individuals looking to get involved in climate action?
Perfect is the enemy of progress. There are no magic bullets. Incremental change is always better than waiting for protection to act. It’s not about one magic solution. It’s the combination of all solutions working together to drive the mass adoption of changes the planet needs. Some solutions won’t work as planned, and that’s OK. We must not be afraid to fail our way to success. The best way to make progress is to become the person the world needs you to be consistently.
Learn more about the Plastic Bank, follow David on LinkedIn and find out how you can make a difference with the Call for Code.
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