
Can You Recycle Credit Card Plastic? And How To Dispose Of It 💳
Can You Recycle Credit Card Plastic? 💳: We here on Waster always want to give you tips on how to reduce your environmental impact. For this blog, I will discuss the recyclability of credit cards. Additionally, I will also talk about other types of cards. Read on to learn more.
>>Download Now: Free PDF Business Owners Guide To General Waste Bin Services
A bit about Waster
Before we discuss whether you can recycle credit card plastic or not, let me share with you more information about Waster.
We here at Waster provide you with innovative solutions for your and your business’s waste management and recycling needs. Furthermore, we provide flexible, 30-day contracts instead of the typical lock-in contracts, which proves to be better.
Click on the blue button to learn more.
READ: Can You Recycle Fridge Magnets? 🧲
Recycle credit card plastic with Heritage Bank
In the past, recycling bank card plastic was almost impossible due to the materials used and the complexity of the cards’ construction. Traditional bank cards are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a durable plastic that is challenging to recycle because it requires specialised processes to break down.
Additionally, these cards often include embedded electronic chips, magnetic strips and holographic features, which complicate recycling further. Separating these components from plastic is labour-intensive and cost-prohibitive, making it unfeasible for most recycling facilities.
Modern innovations, like plant-based materials and recycling programs from banks such as Heritage Bank, are now addressing these challenges.
Heritage Bank in Australia, for instance, has implemented a program where members can recycle expired or cancelled Heritage Bank Visa cards. The cards are securely shredded and sent to TerraCycle, a company that recycles hard-to-recycle materials.
This initiative was part of Heritage Bank’s broader commitment to environmental sustainability. Back in December 2022, the bank introduced Eco Visa Debit Cards made primarily from plant-based materials, containing no conventional plastic. These eco-friendly cards are designed to degrade faster than traditional plastic cards, reducing environmental impact.
By offering both eco-friendly cards and a recycling program, Heritage Bank aims to minimize its carbon footprint and promote sustainable practices among its members.
What about shredding before you recycle credit card plastic?
Big card brands like Visa and Mastercard generally advise you to cut up your credit card to protect your data. But take note that if you do find a facility that recycles credit card plastic, do not cut up the card. According to creditcards.com, recyclers will not shred and cut up your credit cards if it is already torn up or shredded prior to recycling. In other words, you should only send plastic credit card in complete, good quality, without torn parts for them to recycle.
Negative effects of improper disposal of credit cards
Even with its small stature, credit cards will wreak havoc on the environment if disposed of improperly. Here, I will state the hazards it poses to the environment:
1. It contaminates the groundwater
The first thing a credit card plastic does if you fail to recycle or dispose of it properly is contaminate the groundwater. As I have already discussed in past blogs, leaving certain items – in this case, credit cards – in landfills to rot may result in them releasing toxins that mix up with water. This toxic concoction is called leachate.
2. This also contaminates the air
Additionally, credit cards disposed of in landfills can also release toxic dioxin when a landfill fire occurs. Burning plastic releases dangerous chemicals like sulphur dioxide, heavy metals, hydrochloric acid, and others in the air.
What about gift cards? Are they recyclable?
Now that we know that it is close to impossible to recycle credit card plastic, what about gift cards? Maybe somebody gave you gift cards, only for you to find out that they are all expired. Can you recycle them?
Apparently, Woolworths has the means to do so! In the past, customers complained that their gift cards had expiration dates. As a result, in March 2018, they happily agreed and removed the expiry date. This was met with a lot of praise from people. The only thing to do now is to dispose of the already-expired ones. How do they do that? How do they dispose of 1.5 million tallied expired gift cards without harming the environment?
To solve this, they partnered up with Close The Loop. Their then-newfound partner specialises in finding solutions to turning what was once a deemed unrecyclable item into recyclable. They practise the efficient recovery and reuse of the products of their partners.
Much like credit cards, Woolworths’ gift cards are also made from PVC, along with plastic and cardboard. As a result of this beneficial partnership, their expired gift cards were used to help create energy!
How does the process take place?
The PVC and plastic found on their gift cards contain a lot of energy. They used the energy gathered from the PVC and plastic to fuel cement kilns. And do not worry, even though I said that burning them is a bad thing, this is not the case with this process.
By observing and following this process, the environmental toxins emitted from the PVC and plastic are captured by the cement, instead. Furthermore, you can also recycle cement and concrete. Read our blog on cement recycling to learn more.
What about the cardboard found? Well, it is also recycled! As many of us know by now, cardboard is one of the easiest materials to recycle. Recyclers turn them into new cardboard. Businesses seeking packaging usually buy this type of cardboard.
Can you recycle credit card plastic? Here’s our final verdict!
Much like any other materials with plastic as a predominant ingredient, recycling them is hard. You also cannot dispose of them casually as they may harm the environment in various ways. Furthermore, if you do find recyclers willing to take them, you have to make sure that they are in tip-top shape without tears. That means you cannot cut them up to protect your data.
Fortunately, Heritage Bank has shown that we can indeed recycle credit card plastic. Additionally, there are some who have found ways how to handle cards containing PVC. An example is Woolworths, wherein they partnered up with Close The Loop to create energy from expired gift cards.
Check our blog on secure document destruction to learn more about protecting your data.
Waster: Things You Need To Know
If you’re looking for recycling bins, check our waste recycling shop and find the best deals in terms of pricing and services.
Also, please call 1300 WASTER (1300 927 837), or email us at enquiries@waster.com.au if you have any further questions.
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
