I follow a lot of blogs, and many of them aren’t Pagan at all. One of these is Fake Plastic Fish which chronicles one woman’s journey to eliminate plastic from her life. I read her blog because she inspires me, because while I am not in a position to afford to replace my plastic with less toxic items I can think about how to bring less plastic into my life and how to deal with the plastic that is already in my house when the time comes to dispose of it.
It never even occurred to me that gift cards were so toxic to the environment. I bet it hadn’t occurred to you either.
On her blog yesterday she shared the following statistic:
each year, according to Plenty Magazine, “a whopping 75 million pounds of polyvinyl chloride material from plastic cards enters America’s waste stream.”
How can you minimize your own personal impact on the planet when it comes to buying your loved ones gift cards?
How can you minimize your footprint when disposing of gift cards that you have received?
Her ideas led me to compile this list:
- don’t buy gift cards at all – give cash, write a check, or give an actual gift
- buy gift cards from stores that use biodegradable materials (Target, Borders, REI, Wal-Mart)
- buy reloadable gift cards (Visa, AMC) and let the receiver know
- if you get a gift card you won’t use think about selling or trading it on Cardavenue, Plastic Jungle, or Swapagift.com
- be sure a gift card you buy is a fit to someone’s taste before purchasing it
- mail your own used up cards to Earthworks System for recycling
Earthworks c/o Halprin Ind.
25840 Miles Rd.
Bedford, Oh 44146 - speak to store managers, or write letters to stores, asking them to recycle their used up cards as well
- Click this button and sign up to help encourage business to recycle their old gift cards
From now on I will keep used up gift cards in an envelope or can/jar and once I have save up a few I will mail them in for recycling. I will probably still buy gift cards as it saves me from buying “crap” someone doesnt want and helps the receiver get something they truly want or need. But, I may change WHERE I buy those cards.
For example, I usually give gift cards to Barnes&Noble for my girls’ friends’ birthdays. From now on I will buy them from Borders as their cards are biodegradable (under ideal conditions obviously) and are at the very least non-toxic.
What will you do?
Blessings
Mama Kelly
PS Next plastic topic …. What to do with plastic that isn’t recyclable in your area?
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By Deanna (youvegotmaille) on Mar 7, 2009 |
Wow, I hadn’t thought of this either. It’s funny how easily we accept our throwaway world. Lately I’ve been thinking more about everything I put in the trash and checking for a recycle symbol. I can’t seem to find anywhere local that recycles glass, though.
Even the extremely biodegradable vegetable peels I throw in the trash make me feel a little guilty… I really need to start that compost pile.
Thanks for the info. Oh — thought I’d mention, several places (Amazon and Paypal come to mind) have options where you can buy gift cards online and then either email the info to the person, or print out the certificate. Much friendlier than plastic. I’m sure other merchants do this, as well.
Deanna (youvegotmaille)´s last blog post..Transitions
By Chameleon@EverydayTarot on Mar 7, 2009 |
…and now you’ve got me thinking of all the resources used to MAKE all those plastic cards. Gah! Thanks for the Earthworks address, though! I have literally dozens of plastic cards – not just gift cards, but id cards that just about everyone sends you!
Chameleon@EverydayTarot´s last blog post..Tarot – Signposts on the Path
By Iriseyes on Mar 9, 2009 |
I never thought of this either.. Wow.
I do like cards as you mentioned. Takes the “crap” out of buying a gift that someone hates.
Hey what about this idea, if you give a card out Make a SASE to the recycle place so all they have to do is place the card inside and mail it to the company.
BB
Iriseyes