Celebrating Innovation Week and Beyond Plastics: Green Charge Cards

Can a “green” charge card help save the planet?  Most of us probably have not given this much thought.  How can a piece of plastic that occupies so little wallet real estate have a significant impact on the environment? 
Here are the facts: 

• In 2006, the United States Census Bureau determined that there were nearly 1.5 billion credit cards in use in the U.S.  A stack of all those credit cards would reach more than 70 miles into space --- and be almost as tall as 13 Mount Everests.  If this number of credit cards were thrown away every three years (when cards expire), the stack of credit cards would reach almost 43 Mount Everests high after a decade. 
• Today, nearly 6 billion charge cards are produced each year by card manufacturers worldwide, according to the International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA).  The vast majority of them contain a cheap form of plastic called polyvinyl chloride, better known as PVC.  While cheap and sturdy, PVC does not biodegrade.  It emits greenhouse gases when burned, and its underlying material (vinyl chloride) and additives have been linked to health risks.  In fact, Greenpeace has called for a worldwide ban on PVC. 

So what are our alternatives and how can we help?  Is it possible to produce “green” charge cards?  Will these cards hold up over time?  Will they break, snap, crack, melt, be too heavy, be too bulky, or fall apart as we swipe?  The industry has been searching for alternatives but most have not met the standards for durability and functionality across a wide range of card terminals that were designed around tolerances inherent in PVC.  Here are some alternatives that have been or are currently under consideration:

• Wood Cards:  Wood is not flexible enough to not split in your wallet.  It is not smooth enough to affix a magnetic stripe.  To make it work, this solution would be costly.
• Metal Cards:  Metal is conductive so do you really want to swipe metal through a piece of electronic equipment? 
• Cards made from Polylactic Acid (PLA):  This alternative is one of the latest contenders, in addition to Discover’s biodegradable card (see below).  PLA is a bio-based polymer derived from corn.  In November 2009, three Japanese companies (Mitsubishi Plastic, Dai Nippon Printing, and Sony Corporation) announced the development of the first bio-based integrated-chip credit card approved for use by MasterCard Worldwide.  The alternative is improving but experts question whether it will hold up under constant use.  The cost of replacing cards that do not survive to their expiration date is expensive and the carbon footprint is doubled (paperwork, mailing, and transportation emissions).  An expert in the field, Brad Paulson, argues: “When a fair portion of the world is starving, how responsible is it to take a food crop and turn it into plastic?”
• Paper Cards: Paper cards can actually look and feel like plastic.  Paper is earth friendly!  You can produce paper cards with bar codes, magnetic stripes, foil, holograms, and more.  It will perform in almost every application, just like a plastic card.  So what’s the problem?  If it gets wet, paper absorbs water!  So make sure you empty your pockets before doing a load of wash! 

So what will work and what is being done today?  Will we ever have green charge card options?  Yes, we will!  In 2009, Discover launched a biodegradable credit card.  The card is made of biodegradable PVC, which breaks down 99% in nine months to five years in soil, water, compost, or whatever microorganisms are present.  In addition, the card leaves no toxic effect on the environment.  This card is also durable enough to stay intact in the dark pockets of your wallet and through normal wear and tear for at least four years.  When your card expires, go ahead and throw it in your compost pile, and later use that soil to plant a vegetable garden!  The Discover card isn’t the first product to use this technology.  In 2006, this technology was introduced to the consumer market as gift cards.  Later, they were also made into hotel keys.  The technology is currently being tested for use in mascara tubes.  Corporations like GE, Metabank, and Barclaycard have also issued their own versions of green credit cards allowing users to reduce their carbon footprint by using their rewards to purchase carbon offsets or investing the rewards in green projects.

We can all look forward to greener charge cards in our future!  Does your bank offer green options?  If so, what are they?  Do you participate?  Can you offer other alternatives to the traditional PVC charge card? 

Come check out more innovative solutions at our Beyond Plastics Conference.  Click here to register!