We need to stop using plastics and remove them from our world.
There are many, many reasons why, but the only reason we need is the simple fact that plastics destroy the human body.
There are replacements for plastic. There will be more replacements for plastic. There needs to be a compelling economic mechanism to replace and destroy the plastics.
How many pounds of plastic exist and need to be eliminated?
A popularly cited estimate is 8.3 billion pounds1, from a study that was conducted in 2017.
Let’s go with 10 billion pounds.
SOLUTION
“Plastic Token” — a two-phase digital token. Ticker symbols: PPLAS & PLAS.
How does PPLAS/PLAS work?
For every one pound of plastic replaced (ex: by mushrooms), and delivered to a processing site, receive one Pre-PLAS (PPLAS) token.
For every one pound of plastic destroyed, one PPLAS token converts to one PLAS token.
PLAS Foundation & PLAS Tokenomics
PLAS Foundation issues PPLAS/PLAS tokens. There are 10 billion PPLAS/PLAS tokens - one PPLAS/PLAS for every pound of plastic in the world. PPLAS/PLAS are interest-bearing tokens. In cryptocurrency, the tokens and the wallet are inseparable. As such, logistically speaking, tokens can earn interest — the wallet the tokens reside in can receive interest payments, based on the amount and type of tokens residing in the wallet.
How to earn the interest?
BlockFi “cryptobank” pays an annual interest rate on deposits. They offer tiered rates that compound monthly.
For simplicity, let’s say BlockFi pays 6% simple annual interest on USDC deposits, and PLAS Foundation has raised $100M from Benefactors, and deposited $100M USDC with BlockFi.
How to distribute the interest payments?
PLAS Foundation takes that 6% annual interest income and distributes it to token-holders — through the PPLAS and PLAS tokens — and to the Benefactors.
When a company replaces their plastic and delivers it to a participating site, PPLAS tokens are minted, sent to Company A’s wallet, and interest income starts to be distributed:
PPLAS token receives 75% of total interest income.
Benefactors receive 25% of total interest income.
When the plastic is destroyed the PPLAS tokens convert to PLAS tokens, and interest income is distributed:
PLAS token receives 50% of total interest income.
Benefactors receive 50% of total interest income.
The 10 billion PLAS tokens are minted as the plastic is destroyed — they do not exist until minted. Therefore, the value of PLAS, as an interest-bearing token, is derived from the circulating supply of PLAS, rather than the maximum supply of 10 billion. I.e., the interest is paid on the circulating supply and not the maximum supply. By design, the first participants are getting a better deal than later participants.
Assuming $100M on deposit, 6% total annual interest, and one year of interest from PPLAS token (one year for the mushrooms to eat the plastic) before conversion to PLAS token:
10,000 circulating PPLAS/PLAS
Interest from one PPLAS is $450.
Interest from one PLAS is $300 annually.
100,000 circulating PPLAS/PLAS
Interest from one PPLAS is $45.
Interest from one PLAS is $30 annually.
1,000,000 circulating PPLAS/PLAS
Interest from one PPLAS is $4.50.
Interest from one PLAS is $3 annually.
Company Alpha
Company A is the first company to participate. They replace one ton (2,000 pounds) of plastic in their production process by removing the plastic, replacing it with an alternative, and moving it to a site that (for example) uses mushrooms to destroy that plastic. Let’s say it takes one year for the mushrooms to eat one ton of plastic.
Day 1 (no other participants):
Company A receives 2,000 PPLAS tokens.
PPLAS tokens receive a pro-rata portion of 75% of $6M annual interest payment, or $4.5M.
Company A can sell or hold PPLAS tokens.
One year later and the plastic is destroyed (no other participants):
2,000 PPLAS tokens convert to 2,000 PLAS tokens.
PLAS tokens receive a pro-rata portion of 50% of $6M annual interest payment, or $3M annually.
Company A can sell or hold PLAS tokens.
One year later and the plastic is destroyed (2 other equal participants):
PPLAS tokens convert to PLAS tokens.
PLAS tokens receive a pro-rata — 1/3 — portion of 50% of $6M annual interest payment, or $1M annually.
Company A can sell or hold PLAS tokens.
Benefactor Alpha
Benefactor A donates $1M in USDC to PLAS Foundation. Or, they donate $1M that is then converted to USDC. What does he or she receive in return?
Tax advantages.
Commemorative NFT (!) — a Proof-of-Donation.
Interest Payments
25% of PPLAS interest.
50% of PLAS interest.
Summary
Why mint a token? What is the rationale? What is the intention?
There are roughly 10 billion pounds of plastic in the world.
That plastic is poisoning us.
There are replacement technologies.
Tokenization of this problem incentivizes companies to purchase those replacement technologies, with the first companies to do so incentivized the most.
Tokenization allows any individual to deliver plastic to a participating site, and receive an interest-bearing cryptocurrency in return.
PLAS is not “out of thin air,” as it's backed by interest-earning assets, and its minting schedule depends on the measurable loss of a harmful material. PLAS token has a non-speculative market value, and is distributed amongst companies and individuals alike.
An interest-bearing token minted on a per-pound-of-plastic-destroyed basis makes for a pretty compelling token — deriving value from destroying a harmful substance.
PLAS is an example of Peace Machine and Vitality Monetization.
Further Points & Questions
Is paying companies and individuals with the PLAS token, however defined, legally possible? If not, how to make it legal?
Mushrooms grown from plastic are an asset. Can they be sold? Generic Mushroom Protein?
$100M in AUM may be enough to start our own “cryptobank,” which would allow for a higher interest rate return. In this scenario, Benefactors are Depositors who agree to split their annual interest rate with PLAS token holders, while retaining ownership of their cryptocurrency. The “Foundation Model” is popular in the cryptocurrency space, but may be inappropriate for this effort. A Trust?
Overline Network’s Emblem token (EMB) generates leasing income.2 The benefactors could donate USD, which we then convert to EMB. That EMB is leased to Overline miners. That leasing income is then distributed to PLAS token holders and Benefactors/Depositors. This approach would most certainly outpace a 6% total annual interest rate, would remove any need to become a lender (either by proxy or directly), and would require far less than $100M in donations/deposits.
Whether money is Good Money or not may rely on the intention behind it’s creation.
Interest-Bearing & Plastic-Destroying vs. Debt-bearing & Subjugating
Isn’t an interest-bearing token, that derives it’s interest from debt, hypocritical vis-a-vis “Vitality Monetization”?
Yes, it is. Ideally we pay the interest from business activity — Emblem leasing and mushroom sales. We used the BlockFi savings account as an example of how simple the proposition could be, mitigate risk to capital, and to meet people where they are — being more familiar with a savings account than EMB leasing and (maybe) selling mushrooms.
https://www.dw.com/en/there-are-83-billion-tons-of-plastic-in-the-world/a-397656700
Not available yet. SOON.