The vast majority of the Spanish population - 86% - uses a bank card, according to data from the Bank of Spain. Although a large part of banking customers use it regularly and know its limits, doubts may arise when it comes to discarding them when they lose their function due to deterioration or because they expire.
At those times, there are those who choose to cut it into small pieces with scissors, taking special care that personal data such as the name, number or CVV code are completely illegible. There are also those who decide on the shredder. From there, to the trash without further ado.
In any case, they represent a big mistake when trying to eliminate the credit card from circulation. Due to their composition, made up of several layers of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), bank cards are classified as plastic waste and must be recycled at the city's clean points (or green points), this being the most environmentally friendly option. environment.
“The cards are made from several layers of polyvinyl chloride, and the rest of the components, such as the magnetic stripe, the chip or the antenna, use materials such as aluminum, copper, as well as various inks and pigments,” warns the Bank of Spain. “They are considered electronic waste due to their composition of plastic and other metallic materials. If we want to recycle them, we must go to the nearest clean point. We should not throw them into any of the urban waste containers (not even the yellow one for plastics and packaging),” the entity continues.
The easiest and most recommended option is to go to the corresponding bank office and hand in the expired card. Even when you insert the card into the ATM, the machine does not return it if it has lost its validity. In this case, the bank will be in charge of managing the recycling of the card, in a completely secure and confidential manner.
In addition to taking into account the environmental factor, there is another reason why banking users must dispose of this object correctly: the credit or debit card “contains personal information that, in the wrong hands, can lead to its use.” fraudulently,” they point out from the Bank of Spain's Banking Client Portal.
In recent years, some banking entities, such as BBVA, have focused on recycling the greatest number of their expired cards, with the aim of reusing their PVC and contributing to the circular economy, thus reducing the impact on the customer footprint. carbon. Likewise, there are projects to convert plastic into urban furniture objects such as benches or flower pots or even into new cards. This is the case of CaixaBank, which boasts of being the first entity in the country to market cards made with biodegradable and recycled materials.
