Discover Financial Services has introduced a biodegradable credit card that breaks down when exposed to microorganisms, New York Times reports.
The company behind Discover's biodegradable card is BIOPVC, which has not patented the idea for fear the secret would get out.
Paul Kappus, Jr., the owner and president of BIOPVC, says the additive is something that acts like a bait to microorganisms. When the microbes are attracted to the BIOPVC, they consume the carbon in the product, and decompose it into CO2, water and a mild salt. Kappus says no toxic vinyl chloride remains.
In 2006, there were nearly 1.5 billion credit cards in use in the U.S., according to United States Census Bureau. A stack of all those credit cards would be almost as tall as 13 Mount Everests.
Corporations like GE, MetaBank, and Barclaycard have also issued their own versions of green credit cards. Most allows users to reduce their carbon footprint by using their rewards to purchase carbon offsets or investing the rewards in green projects.
