Plastic cards: what to do with old bank cards and other plastic cards

I take a look inside my wallet to see if my bank, drivers licence and gift cards can be recycled in Australia and if not, what is there to do with them.


Plastic cards: what to do with old bank cards and other plastic cards

The last six months has seen old plastic cards move out of my wallet, with others taking their place. I replaced my New South Wales state drivers licence, with a Victorian one. Applied for a library card. Removed a sleuth of void cards, hiding in various pockets. Then I switched banks and superannuation funds, adding two more plastic cards to the pile of disused plastic.

In the past I would have chopped my cards in half, before tossing into a bin. I have never recycled any, let alone inquired if I could.

I contacted my old bank to see if they offer a recycling program for old cards. The response was they don't have one in place, but were looking into it. VicRoads, the supplier of my new drivers licence, have yet to get back to me about recycling old licence cards.

Plastic cards: what to do with old bank cards and other plastic cards

These type of cards are made of varying types of plastic. Mostly polyvinyl chloride, known commonly as PVC. While PVC is claimed to be one of the more harmful of all the plastics, it can be recycled over and over, without the need to add more materials in the process.

Depending on the function, cards can contain lamination, microchips, magnetic stripe application, signature panels, screen metallic, pearl and glitter printing, foil stamping, holograms. Made How have a detailed description on the design and manufacture of plastic cards.

Cards rarely carry material identification. With no information about materials or details concerning disposable procedures, I'm left stumbling in the dark to find a solution.

My first point of call was the National Recycling Hotline (1300 733 712). Their response was straightforward; plastic cards couldn't go into household recycling bins. There are two reasons why:
  1. Due to size and weight, plastic cards can easily end up in the paper stream during the automatic sorting process, damaging the paper being recycled and harming machines.
  2. The cards don't have easy to identify indicators to make it easy for manual sorting.

Kerbside recycling could take them, if there were a large stack of them. About the size of a brick. But the chance of that happening, is slim.

With the knowledge that most of my cards are made of PVC plastic, I decided to contact the Vinyl Council of Australia next, hoping they could assist me. They admitted too having similar frustrations that no business handing out these cards, like banks or department stores, offered collection for recycling. Vinyl Council of Australia did indicate they are hoping to organise a country wide recovery scheme that would work with banks, major retail stores and other card providers. Recovery of the plastic cards would not only keep a resource out of landfill, it would also encourage new cards to be made here in Australia, rather than overseas.



UPDATE

Gram Destruction do take plastic cards for recycling. They can be posted to:

Gram Destruction
Factory 4/46 Allied Drive
Tullamarine VIC 3043

Visit the website to learn more:

Thank you to EGirl76 and FoodieFi for passing on the information. 

In the US, Earthworks collect plastic cards.

Another option is to up-cycle them. Our laundry door does not stay open on its own. I wrapped the cards in fabric, turning them into a door stop, until I found somewhere to recycle them.

37 comments:

  1. Gosh we live in a frustrating world! I'm old enough to remember when there weren't many membership cards, and those that existed were cardboard. We managed just fine. I guess another tactic could be to approach companies we might want to hold a card with (aside from banks) and suggest that since everything is electronic surely the card is superfluous if one can give a phone number, say, in order to be found in the system?

    Recycling cards just doesn't make me feel any better, not having them in the first place would make me soooo happy!

    Madeleine.x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If i could be done away with cards I would too Madeleine. It's hard to imagine if they will be around too much longer with the way technology is going.

      Delete
  2. I wonder if libraries and other organisations where one is a 'member' and needs to show proof of membership (such as gyms, video stores, etc) could offer QR cards, which could be scanned from our mobile phones (similar to that which many airlines now offer for boarding passes)? It would be a great replacement for plastic cards from the environmental and clutter perspectives. It could also surely work for loyalty based shopper/service cards too - although my local second hand bookshop and coffee shop do offer paper based cards.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oops, I meant QR codes not QR cards :)

      Delete
    2. There is this thing called Rewardle. I have it on my phone and it works with a QR code. You do need a plastic card to set it up though. But only one for the whole app, and many companies use it. They're hoping for it to be a widespread thing. So far, I've used it to gain loyalty points for two separate companies (a burger joint and a cafe/bakery), with only the one plastic card used. I hope to add plenty more retailers to the list (I know of at least one other cafe with Rewardle, but I'm yet to use it).

      Delete
    3. I can only imagine it going in this direction Kimbo. Someone somewhere i bet is working on this.

      Delete
    4. Razberri, that sounds like a good system. Less waste in terms of plastic cards.

      Delete
  3. Thanks for the tip on Earthworks! Great to know!

    Also, small world, but I kinda freaked out at one of your latest Instagram pictures where you posted your Razorback sweatshirt. If I had an Instagram account I would have immediately commented. I grew up in Arkansas, too, but currently reside in New York. I lived there for just about 20 years. Great to talk to another Arkansan!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wear that Razorback sweatshirt non stop in winter. I am heading back there for a visit with family in a couple of months. I cannot wait :)

      Delete
  4. I've been having this frustration too. I never thought that getting married would impact my waste so much. Some cards I've had replaced up to four times, because it would take three goes for the bank to get the spelling of my name right (how hard is it?), despite me explicitly asking for a replacement card NOT to be sent, and then it would expire a month later. gah!
    What about Terracycle? They are trying to make a name for themselves as recyclers of difficult waste. Perhaps they could take on this challenge?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That sounds like a pain Razberri. I should ask TerraCycle about this thanks for the suggestion. Though the cards are working really well to keep the door open :)

      Delete
  5. As far as I know, in the Netherlands and Sweden plastic cards are not recycled either. They end up in incinerators. Such a waste. I have heard that some banks take the cards back though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I suppose many people are worried about identity theft and the like, so maybe most banks think individuals would prefer incinerating rather than recycling.

      Delete
  6. I just did the same thing and called the hotline to find out what to do with cards.. they told me the same thing. Google then led me to your blog! Have you found any solutions to date?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No solution yet Jaclyn. I have kept them for the time being until a solution is in place. Right now i have upcycled them with some material to act as a door stop in our laundry. Wrapped in material no body knows what they are...

      Delete
  7. Anonymous10/15/2015

    Have you tried asking the card manufacturers such as G&D and Gemalto?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I asked my bank who manufactured the cards but was not told who it was. I will have a look into these companies and see what I can find out. Thanks for the tip.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10/15/2015

      Usually if you look on the back in the small print somewhere it should say something like:
      Manufacturer Name - 99999999(lot/serial number) - 01/15(production date).
      GD puts their logo instead which kind of looks like a pill with a cross in it.

      Delete
    3. I had a look and found the info on 3/4 of the cards. Thanks for being so helpful. I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous10/28/2015

    Another way to recycle plastic cards for the guitar players out there:
    http://www.pickpunch.com/info.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is a awesome idea! Thank you for sharing :)

      Delete
  9. Anonymous5/04/2016

    I kept a whole lot of cards for ages waiting for some opportunity for recycling/reuse. In the end I created an art piece called house of cards for our local councils sustainability week recycled art show, my premise being that our society's foundations of consumerism was a house of cards on the brink of collapse...on a positive note: after refusing membership several times to Petstocks loyalty program where I buy my (plastic packaged :( )chook food they said I could join without a plastic card by using my phone number.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love that idea for an art piece. A clever way to get people talking. Good on Petstocks for doing that. My fiance recently signed up for a membership and requested no plastic card, instead he uses his phone number too. More places should offer this.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous6/15/2016

    In regards to reuse, my husband has a plectrum/pick punch that turns plastic cards into guitar picks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is the perfect reuse of a plastic card :)

      Delete
  11. Anonymous7/17/2016

    Enjoyed the comments. I was actually looking to see if people collected these silly plastic cards, as so many people collect weird and wonderful things! I like the idea of guitar picks. Mahbe there are other ways to put them to good use?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have found ways to upcycle some of mine in small projects around the house. I keep my eyes out for cool projects to pass on. Feel free to post any ideas you find :)

      Delete
  12. Anonymous9/09/2016

    Hi there!

    I have been looking for AGES about where I could recycle plastic cards and looking just now, found you first and then, I discovered this from Moreland City Council (in Melbourne):

    Plastic gift cards and store loyalty cards can be recycled by posting them to:

    Gram Destruction
    Factory 4/46 Allied Drive
    Tullamarine VIC 3043

    Visit Gram Destruction for more information on other products accepted for recycling.

    So I've come back to let you know!

    Cheers!

    Emma.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Emma, I tried calling and email Gram Destruction when I was researching for this post and had no reply. I will re investigate though to see if they do exist. If not, I'll let Moreland City Council know.

      Delete
    2. Do we know if this is a free programme?

      Delete
  13. Their website says they recycle cd's and dvd's but no mention of gift cards/store/bank cards. I would be interested to know if they do accept these items.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Are you referring to Gram Destruction Nicky?

      Delete
    2. I've just contacted Gram Destruction and they confirmed they accept plastic cards for recycling. You can post them in

      Delete
  14. https://sustainablecommunitiessa.org.au/2013/11/13/all-you-need-to-know-about-recycling/

    I wonder whether this works in NSW, it's a post for South Australia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing with the NSW readers :)

      Delete
  15. Thank you for the update Erin. Since coming across this article during my first PlasticFree july attempt last year, I've been stock piling all my loyalty cards and expired vouchers =). Glad to know somewhere local to me accepts the cards regardless of amount. Great blog! Thank you for sharing your zero waste journey and advice!

    ReplyDelete

Hi, leave a comment