The National Trust has ditched plastic for the annual membership card it sends out to the 5.5 million members, in favour of a paper alternative. This is part of the ten year plan announced in the Spring of 2018 to address the scourge of plastic pollution.
The new card will be made from a type of strong and durable paper featuring a tough water-based coating, with the paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. They will be produced in a mill powered by its own biomass.
The Trust said the new cards would remove the use of 12.5 tonnes of plastic a year from the environment – not a great amount in the grand scheme of things but it shows good intention.
The new cards will be entirely recyclable and compostable, as well as coming in at a fraction of the cost of the old cards, which were made of a chalk based plastic, a by-product of the mining industry.
The National Trust said the move was part of a range of measures it was bringing in to protect the environment and tackle the climate emergency, after a survey showed it was backed by the majority of the members.

Plastic free before 2023

The Trust’s membership team said: “Replacing our membership cards is a great step towards helping to reduce our impact on the environment, which we know is an important issue for so many of our supporters.” The magazine which is issued three times a year is already dispatched in a potato starch wrapping, saving some sixteen million plastic wrappers a year!

Elsewhere, the charity is looking at removing plastic from most of its greeting cards and wrapping paper, and looking at alternatives to plastic tree guards and plant pots which would be a major breakthrough. They are trialling drink dispensers to reduce sales of single use plastic in bottled drinks in the shops – there was no evidence of any plastic tat last Christmas – all very tasteful and progressive.

credit to PAMedia