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MARE Foundation Plastic Credits Platform

An outcome-based financing platform that lets people and organizations fund verified plastic recovery and recycling across the Mediterranean.

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The Problem

The Mediterranean is drowning in plastic. Over 570,000 tonnes pour into it every year, and the organizations trying to stop it can barely keep the lights on.

Environmental nonprofits live grant cycle to grant cycle. Funding is unpredictable, seasonal, and comes with months of paperwork before a single kilogram gets collected.

But money isn't the only problem. Donors don't trust where their money goes. They've been burned by vague impact reports and "awareness campaigns" that change nothing.

So the funding dries up. The plastic keeps coming. And the few organizations actually doing the work can't prove it well enough to attract the support they need.

It's a death spiral: no proof means no trust, no trust means no funding, no funding means no cleanup.

The Solution

We built a platform where every euro is tied to a measurable outcome. Pay EUR 0.22 and one kilogram of plastic gets collected and recycled. No middlemen. No guesswork.

Donors pick an amount, pay securely, and immediately receive a personalized impact certificate showing exactly what their contribution funded.

On the ground, collection points across Malta use QR-coded drop-offs that log every kilogram in real time. Nothing is estimated. Everything is traceable.

A live dashboard shows the cumulative impact — plastic collected, CO2 offset, contributions received — so anyone can see the results as they happen.

The result? A system where donors see the proof before they're even asked to give again. Trust isn't requested — it's earned, automatically.

Benefits

Stable, predictable revenue that doesn't depend on grant cycles or seasonal campaigns

Every single euro is traceable — donors see exactly what their money collected and recycled

Public-facing impact dashboard builds trust without a single email or report

QR-coded drop-off network creates verifiable, ground-level proof of collection

Personalized certificates turn one-time donors into repeat supporters

Scales to any coastline — the model works anywhere plastic meets water

Key Features

Outcome-Based Donation System

A streamlined form where donors choose an amount, see exactly how many kilograms it funds, pay securely, and receive an instant impact certificate.

Impact Dashboard

A real-time public dashboard showing total plastic collected, CO2 offset, contribution count, and a live activity feed — full transparency with zero manual reporting.

QR-Coded Drop-Off Network

Physical collection points across Malta, each with a unique QR code. Every drop-off is logged with weight, location, and timestamp for complete traceability.

Certificate Generation

Every donation generates a personalized certificate with the donor's name, amount, kilograms funded, and a unique reference — downloadable as PDF or image.

Rewards Program

Community members earn points for drop-offs and donations, redeemable for rewards — turning environmental action into a habit, not a one-time gesture.

Results

Replaced unpredictable grant funding with a self-serve donation platform that runs 24/7

Every contribution is traceable from euro to kilogram — no more vague impact reports

Drop-off network provides ground-truth data that donors and regulators can verify independently

Certificate system drives repeat donations by making impact personal and shareable

Mobile-responsive platform accessible to tourists, locals, and corporate sponsors alike

Interested in something similar?

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