Over six billion plastic payment cards are produced and shipped worldwide every year. These cards are quickly replacing cash payments because they are a more convenient and secure way of paying. These cards typically comprise several layers of PVC plastic, one of the most common forms of plastic. Each card will contain approximately 5 grams of plastic, weighing 15 000 tonnes. These cards are replaced on average every 3-4 years, and most are discarded into landfill.
Since 2018,Master card has been working to develop more sustainable card options for their cards and other card issuers. Some of these options include:
Recycled PVC plastic uses post-industrial waste to make the card. PVC recycling reduces the need for more oil extraction, which supports the creation of new PVC.
Polylactic Acid is a bio-sourced plastic produced from either corn or sugar starch. The cards can be industrially composted if they are collected and processed in the correct conditions.
Polyethylene Terraphlate contains no chlorine or styrene and is more widely recycled. PETG can be a step towards introducing full circularity.
Ocean-sourced cards are made from post-consumer plastic waste found in the ocean or from coastal areas.
Additionally, Mastercard has introduced its Sustainable Card Badge, part of its certification program to encourage the use of more sustainable materials in card manufacturing. The Badge is a card mark made available to qualified card manufacturers and issuers who reduce first-use PVC in plastic payment cards. Issuers will have access to an approved list of vendors and alternative sustainable materials found in the Mastercard Sustainable Materials Directory. This is the world’s first directory of sustainable card materials and information on where to source them. More than 60 financial institutions in more than a dozen countries worldwide have issued Mastercard cards made from approved recycled, recyclable and bio-sourced materials.
Mastercard is also exploring the end-of-life for payment card options, as most materials used in these cards cannot be composted or recycled efficiently. The contaminants, such as the chips and magnetic tape, still need to be addressed as they cannot be composted, separated, or removed in the recycling processes. The emergence of new chemical recycling techniques alongside the traditional mechanical processes makes this an emerging option for cards which will likely see further improvement over the coming years. Mastercard is invested in research regarding the chemical recycling of plastics to find ways they can contribute to a more circular economy.
Mastercard’s efforts will significantly reduce the need for plastic, especially as these cards continue to be manufactured each year. Although these cards are small, the impact can be huge, and it is important to reduce plastic use wherever we can.
In one of the world’s most crucial oil pricing regions, single-use plastic will be all but eliminated on January 1, 2024.
In 2017, we came to the island of Bali approximately halfway through a 10-month trip around the world with my family. We had been looking forward to the beaches and surfing for months, but when we arrived, we found them polluted with single-use plastic of all types. Due to a proliferation of corporate peddling of plastic convenience items but no meaningful way to manage trash or recycling in the communities, the local population discarded their waste in local ravines. The waste, flushed out to sea by winter monsoons, was deposited upon the (formerly) pristine beaches.
It is wonderful, therefore, to read that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recently announced a ban on single-use plastic items, from cutlery to cigarette butts. The ban is part of an effort to reduce the plastic waste in the world’s oceans, a number generally estimated at around 8 million new tons each year. The announcement brings hope to environmentalists worldwide, showing us that even countries with an economic interest in oil-based plastic production are stepping up to make positive changes.
By banning single-use plastic products, the UAE is taking a big step forward regarding sustainability. Not only will this help reduce the amount of plastic waste in the ocean, but it will also encourage people to make more sustainable choices when they shop or eat out.
According to a 2019 report from the World Bank, the UAE ranked 11th in per capita consumption of single-use plastic. The report states that 11 billion single-use plastic items in the UAE are consumed annually, an average of 4.8kg per person or about 4 million tonnes per year for the entire country. This number contrasts with the global average of 3.25 kilograms per person. For reference, the highest-ranking countries for plastic waste are Japan, with 8 million tonnes and the USA, with 7.2 million tonnes, but a much higher population, resulting in lower per capita rates.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will ban most single-use plastics starting January 1, 2024. The ban includes everything from food packaging to plastic bottles, cotton sticks, crackers and chip bags, wet wipes, balloons and even balloon sticks that contain plastic. They also include cigarette butts and compostable plastic shopping bags, which while a good idea when used properly, often end up in the environment and can take decades to biodegrade outside a civic composting facility.
The UAE has introduced incentives for businesses to switch to reusable packing. They include subsidies for investments in reusable packaging, tax incentives for companies that reduce their plastic consumption, and grants for research projects on reducing plastic waste. The government has also introduced a new “Plastic Smart” program encouraging citizens to reduce their use of single-use plastics. It also enables businesses to reward customers who bring reusable items.
With these incentives in place, many businesses in the UAE have already begun to take steps to reduce their plastic consumption. For example, many hotels and resorts have started replacing plastic straws with paper or metal alternatives, while others are providing refillable bottles to customers instead of single-use plastic ones.
The immediate environmental benefits of the UAE’s ban on single-use plastics are apparent. By eliminating single-use plastics, the UAE will significantly reduce the amount of plastic waste in the ocean every year. This plastic ban, in turn, will prevent the destruction of marine life and reduce the risk of pollution from microplastics in the food chain and the greenhouse gasses emitted as plastic degrades over time.
The UAE is one of many countries to reduce plastic pollution in recent years. Countries like Canada, China, France, and the UK have also implemented similar bans. With continued effort, single-use plastics can be reduced or eliminated in the coming years.
To start dealing with Australia’s mounting plastic crisis, the federal government last week launched its first National Plastics Plan.
The plan will fight plastic on various fronts, such as banning plastic on beaches, ending polystyrene packaging for takeaway containers, and phasing in microplastic filters in washing machines. But we’re particularly pleased to see a main form of biodegradable plastic will also be phased out.
Biodegradable plastic promises a plastic that breaks down into natural components when it’s no longer wanted for its original purpose. The idea of a plastic that literally disappears once in the ocean, littered on land or in landfill is tantalizing—but also (at this stage) a pipe dream.
Why ‘biodegradable’ ain’t that great
“Biodegradable” suggests an item is made from plant-based materials. But this isn’t always the case.
A major problem with “biodegradable” plastic is the lack of regulations or standards around how the term should be used. This means it could, and is, being used to refer to all manner of things, many of which aren’t great for the environment.
Many plastics labeled biodegradable are actually traditional fossil-fuel plastics that are simply degradable (as all plastic is) or even “oxo-degradable”—where chemical additives make the fossil-fuel plastic fragment into microplastics. The fragments are usually so small they’re invisible to the naked eye, but still exist in our landfills, water ways and soils.
The National Plastics Plan aims to work with industry to phase out this problematic “fragmentable” plastic by July, 2022.
Some biodegradable plastics are made from plant-based materials. But it’s often unknown what type of environment they’ll break down in and how long that would take.
Those items may end up existing for decades, if not centuries, in landfill, litter or ocean as many plant-based plastics actually don’t break down any quicker than traditional plastics. This is because not all plant-based plastics are necessarily compostable, as the way some plant-based polymers form can make them incredibly durable.
So it’s best to avoid all plastic labeled as biodegradable. Even after the ban eliminates fragmentation—the worst of these—there’s still no evidence remaining types of biodegradable plastics are better for the environment.
Home compostable label. Source: Australian Bioplastics Association (ABA).
Compostable plastics aren’t much better
Compostable plastic is another label you may have come across that’s meant to be better for the environment. It’s specifically designed to break down into natural, non-toxic components in certain conditions.
Unlike biodegradable plastics, there are certification standards for compostable plastics, so it’s important to check for one the below labels. If an item doesn’t have a certification label, there’s nothing to say it isn’t some form of mislabelled “biodegradable” plastic.
But most certified compostable plastics are only for industrial composts, which reach very high temperatures. This means they’re unlikely to break down sufficiently in home composts. Even those certified as “home compostable” are assessed under perfect lab conditions, which aren’t easily achieved in the backyard.
And while certified compostable plastics are increasing, the number of industrial composting facilities that actually accept them isn’t yet keeping up.
Nor are collection systems to get your plastics to these facilities. The vast majority of kerbside organics recycling bins don’t currently accept compostable plastics and other packaging. This means placing compostable plastics in these bins is considered contamination.
Even if you can get your certified compostable plastics to an appropriate facility, composting plastics actually reduces their economic value as they can no longer be used in packaging and products. Instead, they’re only valuable for returning nutrients to soil and, potentially, capturing a fraction of the energy used to produce them.
Finally, if you don’t have an appropriate collection system and your compostable plastic ends up in landfill, that might actually be worse than traditional plastic. Compostable plastics could release methane—a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide—in landfill, in the same way food waste does.
So, you should only consider compostable plastics when you have a facility that will take them, and a way to get them there.
And while the National Plastics Plan and National Packaging Targets are aiming for at least 70% of plastics to be recovered by 2025 (including through composting), nothing yet has been said about how collection systems will be supported to achieve this.
A brief guide to help you responsibly dispose of your plastics. Source: University Technology Sydney
Is recycling helpful?
Only an estimated 9% of plastics worldwide (and 18% in Australia) are actually recycled. The majority ends up in landfill, and can leak into our oceans and natural environments.
In Australia, systems for recycling the most common types of plastic packaging are well established and in many cases operate adequately. However, there are still major issues.
For example, many plastic items can’t be recycled in our kerbside bins (including soft and flexible plastics such as bags and cling films, and small items like bottle lids, plastic cutlery and straws). Placing these items in your kerbside recycling bin can contaminate other recycling and even damage sorting machines.
What’s more, much of the plastic collected for recycling doesn’t have high value “end markets.” Only two types of plastic—PET (think water or soft drink bottles and some detergent containers) and HDPE (milk bottles, shampoo/conditioner/detergent containers)—are easily turned back into new plastic containers.
The rest end up in a stream called “mixed plastics,” much of which we have traditionally exported overseas for recycling due to low demand here. The new waste export ban may help fix this in the future.
So what do you do about plastic?
The obvious answer then, is to eliminate problematic plastic altogether, as the National Plastics Plan is attempting to do, and replace single-use plastics with reusable alternatives.
Little actions such as bringing your reusable water bottle, coffee cup and cutlery, can add up to big changes, if adequately supported by businesses and government to create a widespread culture shift. So too, could a swing away from insidious coffee capsules, cling wrap and cotton buds so many of us depend on.
Opting too, for plastic items made from recycled materials can make a big impact on the feasibility of plastic recycling.
