May 31, 20187 min read

Gift Cards: The Bigger Picture

In the background there is an image of a pile of a few credit cards. In the middle there is a white box containing the text 'Gift Cards: The Bigger Picture'.

I’d like to start by saying that I’m not and never have been good at living in an eco-friendly way. And therefore, I’m not trying to preach to you about it or shame you about it or whatever because I’m the same, and I don’t want to be hypocritical. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve not been apathetic towards it, I’ve just not been very good at actually behaving in ways to reduce harm to the planet. However, a few things about my job has brought things to my attention that I don’t feel comfortable with and has made me further realise and understand the impact of our actions on this planet.

The issue is plastic (mostly) single-use gift cards. We get told time and time again that single-use plastic is an extremely damaging thing; these types of plastic (petroleum-based or PVC) don’t actually decompose and it takes decades for it to break down at all, becoming small pieces of plastic easily ingested by animals. Not only that, but the production and incineration of PVC results in the release of several highly toxic chemicals:

Dioxins; can cause immune system suppression, hormonal system changes and cancer – a cumulative toxin (stays in system for a long time) which results in higher concentrations in carnivores, including us
Benzene; a carcinogenic
Hydrochloric acid; can cause dermatitis, skin burns, rhinitis, laryngitis, bronchitis and more
Formaldehyde; can cause difficulty in breathing, nausesa, burning sensations in eyes and throat and skin irritation/rashes

Somehow that doesn’t seem like something to carry on doing.

PVC is also produced from petroleum – one of the biggest concerns when it comes to natural resources and the preservation of habitats for animals. Not only that, but the transport of petroleum is problematic since the risk of oil spills in the sea results in predominantly irreversible damage to underwater habitats and organisms. That’s an argument in itself. Are little gift cards worth that sort of damage? I understand that gift cards are not exactly the sole or main use of petroleum and therefore it could be argued that they play a smaller role within the discussion of oil spills and petroleum extraction, however, any reduction in the use of petroleum is positive and necessary if we want this planet to survive in the way we like it.

The other important aspect of this issue that needs to be considered is the amount of gift cards (and therefore PVC) that simply get thrown away. I touched on this earlier, but I want to dig a little deeper. A gift card typically holds between £5 - £100 with the majority being non-reloadable, meaning that once you’ve spent the amount on there (often in one go), you can’t put any more money on it. Now, I understand that you are given gift cards and therefore wouldn’t feel the need to reload money on it for yourself to spend, but if it were possible to reload the money and give the gift card to someone else then it wouldn’t be immediately thrown away without being used more than once. This brings up the question: would “regifting” be an issue? I don’t think it should be, to be honest. The thought of wanting to give someone a gift card is still there, it’s just not using another piece of plastic for the sake of it. It’s that ‘reuse’ part of the song we were all taught as 5-year-olds.

So, if the majority of cards are non-reloadable and are primarily being thrown away, this means they’re all going to landfill. In the USA, it was reported by Plenty Mag in an article written in 2008 that 75 million pounds of PVC from these cards enters the US’ waste stream. As I mentioned earlier, PVC doesn’t naturally degrade. What the reality of this is, is decades of being in piles in landfill sites across the world and the unavoidable eventual release of harmful chemicals into the land to be inevitably ingested by animals. Animals that are part of the larger food chain, where we are at the top of. Huh. Maybe something to think about.

There is genuine concern in both the UK and around the world that we are running out of space for landfill sites and the amount of waste expected to be placed in landfill. So here, we have two problems: no space for our waste and lots of landfills causing lots of issues/damage to the areas in which they’re situated in. Here’s a quick rundown of a few problems that landfills cause (I haven’t listed all of them otherwise we’ll be here forever, I’m willing to explore it in more detail in future posts, however):

Air pollution

Methane and carbon dioxide are often released via the degradation of biodegradable waste
Acid gases such as nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride can be released due to landfill gas combustion processes – nitrogen dioxide can be an irritant of the airways, causing inflammation and bronchoconstriction and can causing the immune system in the lungs to weaken
Hydrogen sulphide production as a result of combination of materials containing high sulphate concentrations with biodegradable waste (flammable gas that has a particularly pungent smell of rotten eggs)

Biodiversity

Development of landfill sites result in the loss of habitats for both animals and plants and the likely destruction of many plant species in a single area
Gases released, like the methane and carbon dioxide mentioned above, have a serious impact on global warming and climate change – the effects of which are monumental across the world, with sea level changes and habitat loss being one of the most discussed in the media, such as the destruction of coral reefs (including the Great Barrier Reef, one of the seven wonders of the natural world)

Soil and Groundwater

Some of the more toxic components of materials that have been put into landfills can leach into the soil and consequently the groundwater; in developed countries like the UK, this is often less of an issue when it comes to drinking water as there are strict regulations as to what is deemed safe for distribution – however, this is not the case for developing countries such as India where regulations are not as strict and people don’t necessarily have access to ‘drinking water’ in the first place

If we could minimise the amount of waste going into landfills and reduce the size and number of them in not just our country but around the world, I think we could be on our way to solving another massive problem that governments are currently trying to tackle: lack of housing. Most countries around the world are facing a housing crisis, the UK included, so rather than trying to cram houses into residential areas that are nearly full themselves or have to build on greenfield sites/other areas of green space, perhaps space from landfill sites could be a more effective way of using space. Now, this doesn’t come without its own issues, since all of the problems affecting the land that I mentioned above have to be fixed before it can be safe enough to provide a good quality of life for those living there. Which would take significant investment in order to thoroughly investigate the problems for each site and have solutions that have been engineered to eradicate each issue. Essentially, it would take time and money, but I do think it would be worth it.

I’ve been thinking about solutions to the issues I’ve discussed here, since it’s no use me ranting about it without actually trying to consider ideas. The overall production and composition of plastic, not just gift cards, needs to be tackled. In an ideal world, all of the components would biodegrade into something harmless or helpful to the environment. I am aware, however, that this is something that is extremely difficult to achieve whilst still keeping the overall product entirely effective in its properties/functions (e.g. tensile strength, corrosion resistance etc.). So, some serious investment is required for the scientific research for this; we need investors and even ordinary people with bucket-loads of money to contribute to the cause.

In the meantime, is there an alternative to the plastic gift cards we currently use? My first instinct is to make them from wood. Now, whilst this is a whole other problem with the deforestation caused by the timber industry, the effects of wood decay or degradation on the environment is so much less than the chemicals released by the break-down of plastic. So, whilst the aim of using wood would definitely not be to be thrown away, if it were to be, the effects would be less. Additionally, wooden gift cards would be easier to recycle – something which can only be a good thing.

Wooden gift cards not your thing? Then let’s look at other ways of making gift cards more environmentally friendly and sustainable. It should be possible for gift cards to be reloaded (as mentioned before) or even reprogrammed. Some gift cards require personal details to be held in order to be activated – ideally, it would be possible to wipe this data entirely so that the card can be resold to another customer once it has been used up and given to the store. Entirely sustainable. No throwing away involved.

Right, I don’t think I’m going to carry on much further with this for now, as this post is already much longer than I had intended and I know I could write more (but it actually shows how much it needs to be discussed and researched). I’m going to include all the links that I used to write this piece underneath the main post - plus, take a look at the infographic I made down below – I will also be posting the infographic separately on social media if you want to share it.