When I think about corn I think about corn on the cob, popcorn, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and other popular, tasty corn products. One thing that I never would have ever considered was corn’credit cards? Oh yes, it’s true! Veridian Credit Union located in Waterloo, Iowa has become part of a revolutionary and eco-friendly movement that transforms traditional plastic credit cards into corn-based, sustainable plastic credit cards…

When I think about corn I think about corn on the cob, popcorn, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and other popular, tasty corn products. One thing that I never would have ever considered was corn’credit cards?

Veridian Credit Union partnered with NatureWorks, the plant manufacturer, and Cargill, the world’s largest corn merchant, to create the product, which is made by turning corn into a resin known as polylactic acid (PA). The acid is turned into tiny pea-sized pellets that are then melted and transformed into the card.

Out with the Old, In with the New

The entire production process uses 65% less energy and produces 68% less harmful greenhouse emissions. And once you’re done with the card or it expires, throw it away and it will decompose into natural compounds in as little as 90 days. But the best thing about the corn cards is that they look and feel exactly like regular plastic credit cards!

It’s important to continue to find innovative ways to sustain the environment. Using corn to make plastic is just one of the many eco-friendly revolutions of our time, and I hope that new ideas keep popping up so that we can keep recycling and reusing old products to decrease the production of harmful new products!