Have you ever wondered what to do with your old credit cards, reward cards, gift cards and other plastic type cards in your wallet? With over 10 billion new cards place in circulation every year, most are thrown in the trash contributing more than 75 million pounds of PVC (plastic resin) in the landfill every year. In addition, with credit card fraud an ongoing issue it is usually not safe to throw these cards away in the trash. Now there is a company that recycles this plastic and destroys these cards responsibly.
Earthworks System is a PVC recycling company that began accepting plastic type credit, gift and reward cards for recycling in 2008. They target retailers who hopefully will send in large quantities of cards but they now allow individuals to mail them in too, knowing that these cards often don’t get back to the company who distributed them.
Earthworks grinds up old cards (ensuring they are disposed of safely) and crafts them into PVC sheets used to make new plastic cards. Retailers can then purchase Earthworks 100% recycled PVC material to make new cards. You can tell if it is a Earthworks card on the back just above the magnetic strip.
Your old plastic cards (both individuals and businesses) can be mailed to: Earthworks c/o Halprin Ind.
25840 Miles Rd. , Bedford, OH 44146.
Type of cards accepted; ID cards, credit cards, driver’s license, library card, rental cards, membership cards, reward cards, shopper discount cards, and retailer gift cards.
Many companies in the beginning of the New Year purchase new electronic equipment. It is important to discard e-waste appropriately by using e-waste vendors that are certified by the Basel Action Network e-Stewards program. This system of certification is an independent audit that ensures recyclers do not throw e-waste into landfills and to only send to developing countries that have responsible and safe means of destruction and disposal.
There was a responsible electronics recycling act (HR 2284/ S. 1270) that was introduced in Congress in June of 2011. This Act would prevent the export of non-functional or shredded electronic scrap to developing countries and make it illegal to dump electronics into the landfill. It has been passed down to the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment but as of today, the status is unknown.
Two great videos on the issues of e-waste;
Story of Electronics: Produced by the same organization as the Story of Stuff. An easy 20 minute video on where electronics go once they have no use.
60 Minutes Wasteland: First aired in 2009 and again in 2010, this gripping and telling investigative reporting on e-waste issues in China.
Go to eco-officiency’s website to learn about recommended places to recycle or donate unwanted computers and electronics.
Plastic bags are just a mess for the environment. Worldwide there are now 500 billion plastic bags used annually. If you haven’t seen the big plastic patch in the ocean, then watch this video from Good Morning America. Unfortunately, these bags are petroleum based and don’t seem to break down in our landfills or water causing major toxins and pollution issues. Cities like San Francisco have banned plastic bags and other cities like Boston and Portland are considering it. Be in the forefront and refrain from using plastic bags in your business. Here are some options;
Bring Your Own: Ask your customers to bring their own bags. Better yet, create a promotional re-useable bag and sell it. Companies like Chico Bag are nice convenient to carry.
Offer Compostable Bags: Consider purchasing and using compostable bags. Roplast Industries and BioBags both make good compostable plastic-type bags.
Offer Recycling: In the interim, offer recycling containers and disposal for the plastic bags. They need to be clean and dry and usually #2 or #4 plastic which most of the regular plastic shopping bags are made from. There is an organization called Plastic Bag Recycling that provides a system and container to help businesses recycle plastic bags.
Aveda now has a cap program that will recycle bottle caps, a material that has been in the past un-recycleable. They will accept all screw caps that are hard plastic, usually the #5 in the recycle arrows located on the inside of the cap. This includes twist tops on bottles, flip tops from tube or food products and other screw like-type rigid lids. Please don’t send them any flexible or soft lids on tubs. For more details on the type of caps and where to send them, contact Aveda directly at capcollection@aveda.com.
One more material that we can keep out of the landfill!
Have you ever wondered what to do with your old credit cards, reward cards, gift cards and other plastic type cards in your wallet? With over 10 billion new cards place in circulation every year, most are thrown in the trash contributing more than 75 million pounds of PVC (plastic resin) in the landfill every year. In addition, with credit card fraud an ongoing issue it is usually not safe to throw these cards away in the trash. Now there is a company that recycles this plastic and destroys these cards responsibly.
Recycling | eco-officiency January 10, 2012 | 
Comments (0) 
