BUS5SMM: Plastic Collective Case Study: Sustainability and Marketing

This case study examines Plastic Collective, an Australian social enterprise focused on addressing plastic waste issues in remote communities. It highlights the company's mission to transform plastic waste into valuable resources using innovative technologies like the Shruder machine. The analysis covers the company's importance in promoting environmental sustainability and contributing to the economy through waste reduction and energy conservation. It details Plastic Collective's sustainability strategies, including 'go green' initiatives, plastic reuse, and recycling programs. The study also identifies key sustainability-related issues such as waste collection infrastructure, wildlife impact, economic costs, tourism effects, and community health concerns. Alternative strategies like 'collect, transform, and create,' technological innovation, and supply and demand management are explored. The analysis concludes with an evaluation of the company's planning, organizing, leading, and controlling functions in implementing sustainable practices.

LA TROBE BUSINESS SCHOOL
SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT & MARKETING (BUS5SMM)
Lecturer in charge: (Dr. Hernan Riquelme)
Student name:
Student number:
Submission date:
5/31/2019
Plastic collective

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Contents
Background of company..................................................................................................................2
Importance of company...............................................................................................................3
Sustainability related strategy used by Plastic collective................................................................3
Sustainability-related issues.............................................................................................................4
Alternative strategies to address the issue.......................................................................................6
Analysis of the situation..................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................9

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Background of company
Plastic collective is innovative company that is established by Louise Hardman in the Australian
social enterprise, which provide elucidations to distant and societies related to plastic waste
(Plastic Collective, 2018). The solution helps these areas to change plastic leftover into useful
resources. The mission of company is to eliminate the waste from the society for the
improvement in the lives of the community. The company introduced the machine that is popular
with the name of Shruder with the motive to extruding and shredding the waste of plastic.

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Importance of company
Plastic collective company is vital in the broad that include international business landscape in
Australia because it offer and use the required material for the landfills that encourage the
businesses and communities to reduce the harm on the environment and leads to the sustainable
practice. The company is important because it contributes in bring the new innovative
technology that effective reduce the fossil fuels and save the energy (Plastic Collective, 2018).
The owner of business has designed to safeguard the simplicity, durability, long life and many
others.
Plastic collective plays a important part in Australia as it runs a partnership program through
which they can collaborate with industries, organisation, and various communities who are
faithful for offering help majorly for ecological as well as economic solution for the healthier
and clean world (Plastic Collective, 2018). This is possible by achieving the goals that are linked
with the environmental sustainability and economic development.
Sustainability strategy of Plastic collective
Plastic collective implement different sustainability strategies in order to preserve sustainability
within dynamic environment. The strategies of sustainability that is followed are explained
below –
 Go green strategy: - The reduction in the use of the plastic material leads to the rise in
the sustainability of environment. Shruder machine of business is used by corporation
through which they can remove the plastic waste. Further, they communicate with the

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community to encourage the people to select the environmentally friendly behaviours
through which they can do less waste and damage to the environment (Peattie, 2016).
 Reuse plastic waste: - Company make use of the sustainable environment strategy of
reuse the plastic waste. The waste of plastic is increasing by the customers due to which
they generate the awareness among the market through the programs (Coca-Cola, 2019).
The programs help in making the customers aware how they can reuse it. The products
that can be reuse by the customers include shopping bags, plastic bags and many others.
These bags can be used by the customers multiple times, which will reduce the use of
plastic. The company teaches the boundless cycle of imitation in which the products are
planned from commencement to reuse and add on the extra survives by melting down and
remoulding. For instance; rather than merely throwing the plastic bottle, it can be reused
by the customers for any other purpose.
 Recycle plastic: - Louise, the owner of Plastic collective innovation is Shruder machine
that shreds used plastic and converts it into something usable again. For example, Coca-
Cola uses the machine, as it is collaborators of plastic collective (Coca-Cola, 2019). This
machine is used by them for the shredding the plastic and using it again for the
manufacturing of the new resources that include 3D printer threads, equipment and
construction materials. Thus, this shows that plastic collective follow the strategy in
which they recycle plastic.
Sustainability-related issues
Plastic collective find numerous sustainability issues that are discussed below -

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 Collection and infrastructure: - Sustainability of the environment is all about collecting
the waste and improving the infrastructure. In the distant and minor societies, the waste
gathering is one of the major issue of the non-existence because improper infrastructure
facilities which include the lack of the transportation cost and proper waste management
infrastructure (Plastic Collective, 2018).
 Wildlife and habitat impact: - The key issue that is witnessed by company is related
with the movement of the plastic from land to sea. It has been found that plastic waste
available on land shift to the sea that leads to the issue on the marine habitants and life, it
also destroy the reefs, influences the marine life (Plastic Collective, 2018). In addition to
this, it creates impact on the fishing industries that include the food and jobs.
 Economic impact: - The total true budget of the waste plastic pollution is forecasted at
approx. $13 billion on every year related to the shipping, tourism, wildlife, habitat issue,
and many additional difficulties that show sustainability is influenced (Plastic Collective,
2018).
 Adverse impact of tourism: - Tourism activity is considered as one of the major element
that contributes to the economy. It has been found that the visual and appealing of the
tourism on beaches because of the presence of the high plastic on the beaches which
influence the behaviour of tourists and their experience at the place. This is considered as
one of the major issues related to the environmental sustainability (Plastic Collective,
2018). It has been evident that the leftover is more at the beaches because of the high
amount of tourist visit at the place.
 Community health and safety issues: - Plastic collective deals with the sustainability
issues that include the health and safety of the community people. It has been evident that

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at most of the places burning and dumping of the plastic practice is done for managing
the sustainability at the place. The dumping of the plastic leads to the issue of the
unsanitary condition and increases risk of the human consumption (Plastic Collective,
2018). The community people are dependent on the fish and other sea animals for their
livelihood. The fish is consumed by people is contaminated and include the different
elements of plastic waste affects the fish. This affected fish is consumed by the
community people that directly affect their health.
Alternative strategies to address the issue
Collect, transform and create: - Plastic collective follow the strategy of collect, transform and
create the plastic. In this, the business collects all the plastic waste from the sea and land in order
to transform it with the help of shruder machine and then to create the new thing that can be
reused by them (Coca-Cola, 2019). In addition, they transform and form new materials that can
be used by the customers.
Innovative strategy: - The innovation in the technology is one of the way through which the
plastic collective can effectively reduce the issues. This reduction in the plastic contributes in the
betterment of the economic. Further, this reduction in plastic resolve the issues of community
health and safety, the impact on the tourism will also get reduce, the wildlife habitat will improve
and there are many other ways issues that can be resolved (Welford, 2016).
Managing supply and demand: - The plastic collective implement the concept of management
of the supply and demand of plastic in the Australian market. The control on the supply of the
plastic is the way through which fewer issues arise (Robertson, 2014). This shows the
implementation of Balance theory is the reason that leads to decrease the destruction of plastic in

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managing the sustainability in environment and improving the lives of people. This theory of
balance helps in maintaining the demand and supply of the material related to the plastic.
Analysis of the situation
This section include the implementation of the strategy majorly in relations of the planning,
organising, leading and controlling as these are purposes of the management.
 Role of planning: - Planning is one of major and leading function in the management
that are required to maintained by the company for effective planning and preventing
from the landfills. The planning has been done for the adopting the new technology and
managing the supply and demand. In addition, Plastic collective company plan for the
strategy of collecting, transform, and creation of the plastic products (Iannuzzi, 2017).
 Role of organising: - The organising purpose of management is executing planning into
organizing sustainable strategies. The new technology is adopted and implemented by the
plastic collective company. The plastic collective organise the team through which they
can manage the demand and supply of plastic.
 Role of leading: - Leading is considered as the one of vital function of the management
consists of the direction to other person in effectively maintaining in the dynamic
environment (Garg, 2015). The leader will take the steps through which they can manage
the supply and demand of plastic. Further, they guide all the employees to manage the
strategy of collect, transform, and create with this they ensure that technology is
implemented.
 Role of control: - The function of the management is controlling which is most crucial as
functions while managing the sustainable practice. The plastic collective company

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control Shruder machine so that it can work effectively. They ensure that the technology
is updated so that system can be improved (Neubert and Dyck, 2016). The market
research is essential in order to determine the demand and supply of the plastic.

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References
Andrady, A.L. (2015) Plastics and environmental sustainability: fact and fiction. New Jersey:
John Wiley & Sons.
Coca-Cola (2019) Collect. Transform. Create. How Plastic Collective and Coca-Cola are
Collaborating in the Circular Economy [Online]. Available from: https://www.coca-
colajourney.com.au/stories/how-plastic-collective-and-coca-cola-are-collaborating-in-the-
circular-economy [Accessed on 12th February 2019]
Garg, A. (2015) Green marketing for sustainable development: an industry
perspective. Sustainable Development, 23(5), pp.301-316.
Iannuzzi, A. (2017) Greener products: The making and marketing of sustainable brands. CRC
Press.
Neubert, M.J. and Dyck, B. (2016) Developing sustainable management theory: goal-setting
theory based in virtue. Management Decision, 54(2), pp.304-320.
Peattie, K. (2016) Green marketing. In The marketing book(pp. 595-619). Routledge.
Plastic Collective (2018) Our Mission [Online]. Available from:
https://www.plasticcollective.co/mission/ [Accessed on 12th February 2019]
Plastic Collective (2018) Our Team [Online]. Available from:
https://www.plasticcollective.co/team/ [Accessed on 12th February 2019]
Plastic Collective (2018) Partnership Programs [Online]. Available from:
https://www.plasticcollective.co/partnership-program [Accessed on 12th February 2019]

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Plastic Collective (2018) Plastic Waste [Online]. Available from:
https://www.plasticcollective.co/plastic-waste-issue/ [Accessed on 12th February 2019]
Plastic Collective (2018) The Plastic Collective [Online]. Available from:
https://www.plasticcollective.co/ [Accessed on 12th February 2019]
Plastic Collective (2018) The Shruder & Program [Online]. Available from:
https://www.plasticcollective.co/brochure/ [Accessed on 12th February 2019]
Robertson, M. (2014) Sustainability principles and practice. New York: Routledge.
Welford, R. (2016) Corporate environmental management 3: Towards sustainable development.
Routledge.