US Bank is the first institution to roll out a new card made with biodegradable plastic from CPI Card Group.
US Bank issued the new-fangled plastic, which is made of PVC material, for its Voyager commercial fleet card customers. CPI has been working on the bioPVC card for “several years,” according to CPI, proclaiming that 99-percent PVC material will biodegrade anywhere from nine months to five years in soil or water, according to a release. Even with a short shelf life, it won’t degrade inside a wallet: “The finished card performs equal to cards manufactured on regular PVC as no biodegradation takes place unless the product is in a fertile environment such as compost,” says CPI vp of sales, Bob Clarke.
Card manufacturers are catching up with greening trends. The International Card Manufacturers Association, a non-profit trade group with 200 corporate members, plans a meeting in Philadelphia next month of its Green Task Force to develop environmentally responsible standards for producing cards.
