Discover Launches Biodegradable Credit Cards

February 24, 2009

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Discover Financial Services has introduced a biodegradable credit card that breaks down when exposed to microorganisms, New York Times reports.

The company behind Discover’s biodegradable card is BIOPVC, which has not patented the idea for fear the secret would get out.

Paul Kappus, Jr., the owner and president of BIOPVC, says the additive is something that acts like a bait to microorganisms. When the microbes are attracted to the BIOPVC, they consume the carbon in the product, and decompose it into CO2, water and a mild salt. Kappus says no toxic vinyl chloride remains.

In 2006, there were nearly 1.5 billion credit cards in use in the U.S., according to United States Census Bureau. A stack of all those credit cards would be almost as tall as 13 Mount Everests.

Corporations like GE, MetaBank, and Barclaycard have also issued their own versions of green credit cards. Most allows users to reduce their carbon footprint by using their rewards to purchase carbon offsets or investing the rewards in green projects.

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Reader Comments

I don’t know how comfortable I am with “Microbe Bait” sitting in my wallet

Has anyone else noticed that this card has no “Giving” program whatsoever? No “we’ll donate 1% of your purchase to the Amazon” at all, is this a new selfish sustainability?

Blogged here: http://is.gd/kK81

Aaron Fu | February 25th, 2009

While this is certainly a step in the right direction, there are several other credit cards available that offer far greater environmental and social benefits than these mega-bank issued cards. Among them, consumers may want to know about the ReDirect Guide Visa (http://www.redirectguideoffers.com), and the Salmon Nation Card (www.salmonnation.com/growsn/snvisa.html) – both issued through the independent Shorebank Pacific.

Coop America released an excellent report outlining what consumers should consider, and a listing of truly responsible credit card programs (http://www.coopamerica.org/pubs/realmoney/articles/ResponsibleCreditCards.cfm)

Mike Johnson | February 25th, 2009

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