WELLINGTON (CU)_Many industries across economies have now begun to join forces with climate experts and environmental campaigners to make significant contributions to the global climate effort. One of the key challenges in minimising the deadly effects of climate change is the increasing production of single-use plastic, which is produced from fossil fuels emitting huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, plastics also leave a deadly legacy in our oceans, which provide the largest natural carbon sink for GhGs.
Against such a background, Kiwibank is set to become the first bank in New Zealand to issue payment cards made from recycled material. According to Fiona Ehn, Kiwibank’s cards and payments general manager, under the new initiative, the bank would issue more than half a million bank cards made of industrial waste each year. “Plastic waste is one of the top social and environmental issues that concern New Zealanders, so I’m proud that we can do our bit to create a second use for industrial waste,” she noted.
She noted that the cards, some of which will be made by an Australian manufacturer operating in Auckland and Melbourne, will have the same durability as any other payment card used by banks.
Meanwhile Kiwibank’s head of sustainably Julia Jackson revealed that 82 per cent of each card will be made of recycled material, since 100 per cent is not achievable owing to the fact that bank cards contain a chip and an antenna which cannot be made from recycled materials.
According to Jackson, under the new initiative, more than two tonnes of recycled plastic waste would be used each year to produce the payment cards. This would result in a reduction of a massive 54 per cent in carbon emissions associated with the process.
