Save the world? Monzo cards that are not made with plastic?

Probably never going to happen, but it would be a bold and awesome move if you made your cards from wood or metal (for example). Save our planet :smile:

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Some alternatives have been discussed in the following thread, including interest from one of the Monzo team involved in card production.

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Itā€™s a nice idea, Iā€™m currently in the process of cutting my plastic usage.

N26 have that nice and shiny ā€œmetalā€ card - if there was a nicely designed Monzo version, iā€™d even be willing to pay for it (a one off payment, as opposed to a regular payment :wink:)

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Iā€™d second that sentiment too. Either a metal one, a wood option @ajukco mentioned (is that even feasible? Bamboo?), or any kind of more environmentally-friendly options would be of interest to me.

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Iā€™d pay too! :slight_smile:

It wouldnā€™t be easy, but I have seen a few banks abroad try.

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and in the UK. Triodos Bank have an environmentally friendly card

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Also remember, some plastics are better than others, and metal cards are still plastic coated.

As for plastics used, Iā€™m pretty sure the Amex clear cards are polypropylene. Iā€™m no materials scientist, so donā€™t yell at me if Iā€™m wrong :slight_smile: (I suppose I could take one down to our materials analysis lab and ask those students to tell meā€¦). I believe polypropylene is more environmentally friendly than PVC, and the card sure feels a lot nicer (itā€™s a smoother, nicer-feeling plastic). So maybe looking at what plastics are used might be a better option?

Ooh, hemp-based plastic could be a great choice!

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Back of a Barclays Debit Card

https://newsroom.barclays.com/r/828/barclays_offers_a_greener_form_of_banking_with_blue_debit

IMG_20180125_161848

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it may only be carbon neutral because they pay money into a carbon offset scheme

EDIT yes i was right, their manufacturing process emits ā€œharmful emissionsā€ but they ease their conciounce by paying money to a firm that tries to reduce emissions elsewhere

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Yeah, thatā€™s not ideal. Iā€™d really like to see Monzo use a plant-based plastic that biodegrades after 10 years or some sort of reasonable lifetime. Or at least make them out of something that can be easily recycled and offer a return scheme (as presumably the metal and silicon needs to be extracted and recycled too).

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Why not start by at least making cards out of PET so they can be recycled? The current ones are not recyclable at all. This is an easy change.

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With Apple Pay and such like (Samsung, Android, Fitbit Pay et al) I wonder how long the physical card actually has left anyway.

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@mjw1987 Considering some budget phones are still being made without fingerprint sensors and NFC, iā€™d say a little while yet!

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True, but I guess there are people that donā€™t use them at all (or very much), so I wonder if it will be opt in for one that providing one as standard? Probably a while yetā€¦

ā€¦saying that, seeing as cheques seem to still be around maybe not this generation!!

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If it wasnā€™t for b&q I wouldnā€™t have used my card for two months. I donā€™t bother taking my wallet out anymore, unless Iā€™m off to b&q. They need to sort their s#i*& out.

Gotta love B&Qā€¦ Standing at the till with the most awkwardly shaped itemā€¦ and then have to do a balancing act whilst you insert your cardā€¦ I swear they do it deliberately!

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They also refused to let a friend of mine use his card. Massive rules violation there.

Looks like Mastercard is now looking in to more sustainable cards. Maybe Monzo should ask if they can pilot alternative cards, or be involved in some way? :blush:

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