How Israel is Saving the Planet, One Rubber Band at a Time!

This simple Israeli solution to plastic bottle bulk could revolutionize recycling in the 21st century.

By United with Israel Staff

French-Israeli entrepreneur Morris Amsellem has developed a biodegradable rubber band that attaches to plastic bottles, keeping them compressed in recycling bins. The simple solution decreases bottle bulk by a whopping 80 percent, which encourages recycling by taking up less space.

Amsellem, CEO of Ecoams Planet, a waste solution company, publicized the innovation on Monday, dubbing it “Bakbuk,” which means “bottle” in Hebrew.

The rubber band stretches around plastic bottles so that they can be held in the folded position with ease.

Amsellem said that the easy-to-use rubber band “reduces the frequency of throwing [bottles] into [communal] recycling bin[s] by a factor of five and provides a tremendous ecological response to catastrophic plastic pollution worldwide.”

He also pointed out that it helps recycling companies by “reduc[ing] the number of journeys to recycling sites, [slashing] transportation and compression costs, and generally increases efficiency and productivity.”

Only 14 percent of plastics worldwide are collected for recycling.

A US survey conducted by Ipsos found that 91 percent of consumers felt that reducing the volume of large drinking bottles by 75-80 percent was an important innovation. Sixty-nine percent said they would spend at least one cent extra on a shrinkable plastic drinking bottle, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Ecoams Planet already has patents in 14 countries, with patent applications pending in 58 more countries, according the Post.

The CEO called his invention a “sustainable development,” which helps both the consumer and the recycling industry. With the use of Bakbuk rubber bands,  pollution will decrease, recycling will increase and the planet will be healthier!