NatWest's reverse vending machines' to turn unused bank credit cards into clothing.

NatWest has today launched a first-of-its-kind ‘Reverse Vending Machines’ offering a secure, eco-friendly way to recycle unused plastic cards of which there are 65 million gathering dust in peoples’ homes, or sat idly in their wallets and bags. The new machine will also accept card readers and plastic bottles for recycling.

In their new London locations, the Reverse Vending Machines are free to use for everybody, regardless of whether they are a NatWest customer.

The "Reverse Vending Machine" that provides customers with a safe, environmentally friendly way to recycle used plastic cards. In addition, the machine will recycle plastic bottles and card readers. The custom reverse vending machines were first designed during COP26 and are now being made, tested, and made available to the general public.

This comes after tests conducted at NatWest's offices in Edinburgh and London last year, where more than 35,000 cards and 2,000 bottles collected from testing sites have already been recycled into more than 3,000 hats and pairs of socks. In December, as part of their "Festival of Kindness" for homeless and vulnerable communities in London, Social Bite received over 400 of these clothes. The launch of the reverse vending machines is being done in collaboration with sustainability brand Reborn.

Each card is shredded to wipe consumers’ details before the pieces are securely stored and only accessible by a designated driver. After pickup, the waste is transported by electric vehicles to a recycling plant, and the first batches are being repurposed into hats and socks.

It is also possible to track what the plastic from each machine has been made into, as well as the carbon and energy saved as a result, using integrated blockchain technology connected to a dashboard.

The pilot programme expands on NatWest's recently launched 86% recycled material debit and credit cards, which are designed to be environmentally friendly and are expected to save more than 50 tonnes of PVC plastic.

The reverse vending machines are accessible to anyone in their new London locations, regardless of whether they are NatWest customers.

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