Were you a fortunate recipient of a gift card at the holidays? Or perhaps for your birthday? 1.6 billion plastic gift cards are printed every year in the United States.* This creates approximately 9000 tons of plastic waste and 33,260 tons of CO2 released into the atmosphere. 

The other sad reality is that most of us throw these #3 PVC cards in the garbage once we're done with them. While PVC is a common type of plastic, you’re unlikely to find a curbside recycling program that will accept this form of plastic. So, what can you do?

1️⃣ Determine what type of gift card you have. Is it made of #3 plastic? Keep in mind that some gift cards (such as those from Target, LL Bean, and REI) are made of biodegradable materials like corn and they will eventually break down. (Check the back of the card, and if it's made from a company named NatureWorks, it's biodegradable.) If you have a card made of plastic, read on.

2️⃣ Call your curbside recycling provider to obtain a definite answer on their recyclability in your hometown's program. If they don't recycle them in the curbside program, read on.

3️⃣ Your nearest Best Buy will accept gift cards in their recycling kiosks. It's free!
https://recyclenation.com/2011/12/best-buy-recycling-program/

4️⃣ While there is a cost associated with this option, Terracycle offers pouches where you can collect the gift cards at home, then mail them in for recycling.
https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/collection-programs?query=plastic%20cards

Happy recycling!

PS - Check out the rest of our recycling series when you use our 🔍 search functionality with keywords: Recycling 101

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*: GiftRocket
📸: Unsplash