It’s hard to be eco-friendly when there’s so much plastic. According to the Nilson Report there are more than 20billion credit, debit and prepaid cards in circulation, worldwide.
That’s a lot of plastic. And the biggest drawback is that it is incredibly hard to recycle – often ending up tossed in rubbish dumps.
PVC disposed of this way can poison ground water, or worse, release toxic dioxins into the air during landfill fires. Even if your council can recycle cards, the problem is that they often need to be left whole. But who in their right mind would bin a credit card without cutting it up?
Businesses are joining the fight to reduce our dependence on single-use plastic. The online supermarket Ocado is one of those taking a lead.
Sthaler was formed to find a new way to pay. The company worked with music festival industry to develop a cashless, card-free payment system that was available to everyone. Sthaler developed Fingopay, using VeinID technology, in partnership with Hitachi. Their registered customers use it to pay in bars, restaurants and shops. Blue Star Capital PLC (LON:BLU) is an investing company with a focus on new technologies. Blue Star’s investments include a 1% holding in Sthaler.