Can anyone confirm whether credit cards are made of vinyl? (a.k.a. plastic's evil-er cousin)?

Question

According to an amazing documentary I saw ("Blue Vinyl"), credit cards are among the many things we use in our daily lives which are made of vinyl. It seems that vinyl is one of those evil materials, in that both creating it and destroying it (burning) uses and creates such toxic by-products that one house fire involving a house with vinyl siding can lace an entire town with toxic fumes that get into the air, water and soil. So quite understandably, this worries me. The link to the credit cards? Well, I received my new credit cards lately, and I've been told to destroy my old ones. But how? Apparently, there's no special site that accepts this kind of toxic waste, mostly because governments see it as perfectly safe and harmless. So can anyone confirm whether credit cards are made of vinyl and perhaps offer suggestions on how to safely dispose of them? (I've heard that you just can't!) Thanks!

Answer 1

By "vinyl" I think you mean "poly-vinyl chloride" (PVC), one of the most common types of plastics. Yes, most credit cards are made with PVC, and yes, PVC is harmful to the environment, especially via burning, which produces dioxins (which are potent carcinogens). The problem here is chlorides - organochloride pollutants (like dioxins) are extremely persistent and dangerous, and some people think we should phase them out entirely. PVC is extremely cheap and easy to produce, which is why it's very popular. Cross-liniked polyethylene (PEX) is considered a good alternative to PVC. Greenpeace actually has a whole database on PVC alternatives: http://archive.greenpeace.org/toxics/pvcdatabase/

Answer 2

Credit cards are generally made of PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, which is a widely-used plastic found in many househouse and customer products, such as plumbing pipe, appliances, and bath products. Like all plastics, it produces toxins when burned, which is true for just about anything that is burned. Plastics are not considered hazardous toxic waste, it's one of the recycled products, so if you're throwing out your old shredded credit cards, just put it in the recycling bin. All plastics, because of their resistance to decomposing, should be recycled and reprocessed, so that toxins are not introduced into the environment.

Answer 3

sand one of your old cards down to take off the paint and then go to your local bowling alley. When no one is looking, rub the sanded side on the oily part of the lane about 3 feet out onto the lane, and then put the card into a plastic bag, and resume bowling. Take the card home, and let it sit for a few weeks. If the card begins to dissolve, or you are able to rip it, then it is made of vinyl, because the lane conditioning agent breaks down vinyl into an unusable goo.