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Recyclable Keycards?
Environmentally friendly keycards, made of various biodegradable, non-manmade materials, so when they do get thrown away, hopefully into a compost pile, they'll decompose and nourish the land. The original PVC plastic keycard doesn't biodegrade and relies on petroleum, though there are some advances in the manufacture of this kind of card.
A green keycard is an environmentally friendly solution to room keys. Exchange the PVC keycard your hotel uses now and opt for an environmentally friendly one made of PLA, paperboard, or wood.
From what I hear there were a few glitches in the non-pvc keycards initially, but most of those have been worked out. One options I've seen include the Green-Key. That card, made from paperboard, is recyclable and biodegradable, and made from renewable resources.
Green Keycard Video
Sustainable Cards makes a wood card and a hybrid wood card which has a thin, biodegradable sealer laminated on it. The wood comes from trees grown in certified sustainable forests. The technology has been used in Sweden for more than five years by Scandic Hotels with great success. The manufacturers claim this material is even more environmentally friendly than PLA and paperboard. That's a strong claim.
CornCard keycards are made of PLA, or corn plastic. Though corn plastic is referred to as a recyclable product, it's usually recyclable only in special recycling facilities. And most of us don't have one of those facilities near us. But the products are at least made from renewable resources and don't rely on petroleum.
Green Earth Key Cards promotes responsible choices for hotel keycards, an environmentally friendly alternative. Recycling the PVC from old keycards, and other sources, to make new cards is indeed better than virgin PVC keycards. One claim by this manufacturer is that the cards will decompose -- in 18 months. That's not very fast.
I haven't researched it enough to know the trade-offs of recycled PVC versus PLA plastic or paperboard keycards, so don't know how they really compare in the scheme of things. My bias is that relying on petroleum isn't an environmentally friendly decision.
For me the bottom line is to move away from petroleum-based products as much as possible, even for the small keycard. Save petroleum for things that can't be made another way -- and there are plenty of those items. When non-petroleum materials can be used to make reliable products we need, go that route. Wood and paperboard keycards are my favorite options, to date, with PLA keycards coming in a close second.
Pros of using paperboard, PLA and wood for hotel keycards are that the keys are made from renewable resources, can return to earth through recycling or composting, and with a one-time use are more sanitary for your guests. The cons of these environmentally friendly keycards include the fact they don't last as long so you do have to buy them more often, even if they do cost less than PVC keycards.
Posted by Kit
