Information: Recycle those used-up gift cards!

In our modern lives, we acquire lots and lots of plastic cards: not just gift cards (which the issuing stores don't want back and will only pitch into the trash), but bus passes, membership cards, shopper loyalty cards, and so on. Just this week, I saw a coworker give another coworker a $5 Starbucks card as a thank-you for a work project - a nice gesture, but pretty wasteful from an environmental standpoint, since very few people bother to save and reload spent cards.

Good news - those cards can be recycled! Not by putting them in your recycle bin, because they're PVC and not coded for regular recycling - but you can send your dead cards to Earthworks, where they melt them down into plastic slurry and remake sheets of plastic that can be turned into new cards with minimal waste. What Earthworks really wants is to partner with companies that can send them bulk quantities of used cards, but they'll also accept donations from individuals.

So the next time you use up a gift card or renew your AAA membership, don't just toss the old card - keep them until you have a stash, join up with friends, and send off a batch to Earthworks. Now that's the gift that keeps on giving.

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You can mail plastic cards to:

Earthworks c/o Halprin Ind.
25840 Miles Rd.
Bedford, Oh 44146

• Please just send plastic cards - no rubber bands, paper clips, or paper.
• Please put a label or hand-write the name of your organization on the package so we can track it.