For decades, waste has been viewed primarily as a management problem—a liability to be cleared and buried. However, a growing global movement is reclassifying refuse as an economic asset. By transforming environmental stewardship into tradable financial instruments, mechanisms like environmental credit markets are now creating a price tag for recycling, carbon sequestration, and ecosystem restoration.
The latest frontier in this market is plastic waste. Recently, Israel marked a significant milestone in this sector as the first domestic recycling project received official approval to issue plastic credits. This initiative, facilitated by the Israeli firm Carbon World, signals a shift in how the country approaches its mounting waste problem. The project centers on Plasti-City, a facility in Beit She’an, which specializes in the collection, sorting, and processing of plastic waste in the nation’s north.
The mechanics of the system are designed to ensure transparency and accountability. Each credit represents one metric ton of plastic waste that has been removed from the environment or diverted from landfills, verified under the rigorous “Plastic Waste Reduction Standard” administered by the nonprofit organization Verra. To qualify, companies must document every stage of their activity. This data is then subjected to an independent audit by a third-party organization, which verifies that the activity is both genuine and—crucially—additional to what would have occurred without the funding provided by the credit market.
“One of the great things about this process is that it dramatically improves the way companies in the plastic collection and recycling industry measure their activities,” says Ofer Burstyn, CEO of Carbon World. According to company projections, the Plasti-City project is expected to generate approximately 50,000 plastic credits over the next five years, effectively documenting the removal or recycling of 50,000 metric tons of material.
Once verified, these credits are assigned unique serial numbers in a global registry, allowing them to be traded. Companies seeking to offset their environmental footprint can purchase these credits, providing the recyclers with a new revenue stream that can be reinvested into expanding operations and increasing collection capacity.
Despite the enthusiasm surrounding the launch, the system faces scrutiny from environmental analysts. The central concern is whether these credits serve as a genuine catalyst for change or merely as a “green” smokescreen. Critics argue that such markets risk becoming a way for corporations to pay for the removal of waste while continuing—or even increasing—their own plastic consumption, effectively avoiding the more difficult task of reducing reliance on virgin plastics at the source.
Burstyn acknowledges this tension, noting that the purchase of credits should be a supplementary measure, not a substitute for a company’s primary environmental responsibility. “Companies should ultimately aim for net-zero carbon emissions, rather than simply purchasing credits instead of taking meaningful steps to reduce their emissions,” he said.
Currently, the Israeli market for plastic credits is entirely voluntary. Unlike the European Union, which imposes binding regulations requiring producers to finance packaging waste management, Israel lacks a legal framework for these transactions. As a result, the market relies on the initiative of corporations that set voluntary environmental goals or multinational businesses operating under international standards.
As the market in Israel expands, the success of the plastic credit model will depend on its ability to prove it is driving real-world outcomes. The fundamental question remains: are these credits incentivizing new, impactful recycling infrastructure, or are they simply placing a financial label on waste management processes that were already underway? Moving forward, the industry will need to demonstrate that this financial innovation is a tool for progress, not just a way to commodify the status quo.
This article was prepared by Zavit, the news agency of the Israel Society of Ecology and Environmental Sciences.
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