# National Trust cuts plastic from membership cards

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2020/02/26/national-trust-cuts-plastic-from-membership-cards/
- Published: 2020-02-26T09:00:47+00:00
- Author: Melanie May

**The National Trust will no longer use plastic in its 5 million member cards, it
has announced.**

From the beginning of March, the charity will begin to remove 12.5 tonnes of plastic
from the annually issued membership cards, which will now be made from a super-strength
paper with a tough water-based coating. The paper is certified by the Forest Stewardship
Council (FSC) and the cards are being produced in a mill powered by its own biomass.

As well as being a fraction of the price to produce, the new ‘paper’ card will replace
the old one, which was made from plastic and chalk, and can be composted or thrown
away with paper as part of regular household recycling.

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The [National Trust](https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/) believes it is the first
time in the UK that the new, entirely recyclable and compostable material is being
used for a membership card on such a large scale.

The new cards will begin arriving with membership renewals from March.

A recent survey showed that reducing the charity’s impact on the environment is 
high on the agenda for the Trust’s supporters with more than half of members prepared
to make lifestyle changes to benefit the environment, and the majority saying that
of the Trust’s actions to tackle climate change, reducing single-use plastics was
their top priority.

Mel Nursaw, from 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 National Trust is undertaking a range of measures to help protect the natural
environment and tackle climate change. It has committed to phasing out selling single
use plastics, and is currently exploring how to transfer its physical cards to digital
ones. Initiatives already undertaken include replacing food and drink packaging 
with compostable, plant-based materials; introducing a discount on hot drinks for
bringing your own cup; offering free water to reduce plastic bottle use; moving 
to reusable plant pots and trays at its nurseries; and switching the wrapping on
4.5million members’ magazines from plastic to potato starch.

Other areas it is looking at include removing plastic from most of its greetings
cards and wrapping paper; looking at alternatives to plastic tree guards; trialling
cordial drink dispensers to reduce the sale of bottled drinks; and working with 
suppliers on more sustainable packaging for shipping.

Lizzy Carlyle, Head of Environmental Practices at the National Trust, said:

>  “As an organisation committed to creating and maintaining a healthy and more 
> beautiful natural environment, we are determined to use every opportunity to minimise
> our use of non-renewable resources, and cut down our waste.
>  “We have taken a 
> number of significant steps to make improvements, but with an organisation the
> size of the National Trust it isn’t always something that happens overnight. We
> know there is much more we can do, and taking steps like replacing our 5m membership
> cards will significantly help us protect our environment.”

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