Recycling Conference Badges & Lanyards

Name badges and branded lanyards can be hugely useful when networking with new people at conferences, or speaking to potential clients and other business owners at exhibitions. But what should be done with badges and lanyards when the event is over?

Environmental awareness and recycling are fast becoming standard day-to-day considerations for many businesses and individuals. Thankfully, even when it comes to exhibition badges and lanyards here are several simple ways they can be reused and recycled. So your business can do it’s part to help reduce waste and protect our environment.

What to do with old conference badges

After a business event it’s not uncommon to be left with a large number of left over and used badges. While some waste from events like this can be unavoidable waste from conference badges and name tags can be easily reduced.

There are several different options for recycling conference badges depending on the types of badge you chose for your guests. Opting for a plastic wallet with a paper or card badge insert gives the most opportunities for easy reusing and recycling.

If your conference badges are printed with attendee names, other identification or dates, consider placing some recycling bins or boxes near the exit so attendees can put their paper inserts straight into the recycling. If your badge inserts do not have any printed identification they could simply be stored and reused for future events.

Plastic wallets are also often designed to withstand fair wear-and-tear and can easily be reused multiple times. Set up a collection point where attendees can drop off their plastic wallets when leaving the event. Making it easier for you to reuse as many plastic wallets as possible, reducing your plastic waste and allowing you to save money on plastic wallets for other exhibitions.

Plastic name badges can also be reused in a similar way, providing that there are no dates or identification printed onto the cards.

How to recycle lanyards from exhibitions and conferences

Exhibition and conference lanyards can also be recycled or reused in multiple ways, depending on how creative you want to be!

Some of your attendees may wish to keep their lanyards and re-use them for keys or other day-to-day use, so it can always be worth offering to let your guests keep their lanyards at the end of your events. Additionally, any lanyards that remain in good condition can again be stored and reused.

Corporate lanyards that are in good condition can be repurposed into other items of corporate merchandise, such as bookmarks or straps for branded bags or pouches.

Even if you reuse many of your lanyards, hosting large events means that you may often still have a large amount of lanyards left over. While lanyards cannot be directly placed into general recycling, there are several facilities which are able to break down and recycle the components of lanyards. By separating the metal, plastic and fabric fibres that make up your lanyards, each component can be recycled, composted or reformed into new items.

Switch to Eco-Lanyards and Recyclable Badges for your next exhibition

Recycling standard plastic lanyards and conference badges isn’t the only way that you can host greener and more sustainable events. Swap out your current event solutions for recycled PET lanyards, badges or our glossy eco-badges. Designed to keep your exhibition or conference looking professional while helping to reduce plastic waste.

At Identilam our eco Lanyards are made from either a recycled PET or bamboo base, making them fully recyclable while offering a durable alternative to standard plastics. We also offer a range of ID Green badging solutions including 100% recyclable badges and badges made from recycled plastics. ID Green badges can also be fully customised with your business logo, images and text, printed on a CO2 neutral printer in the UK.

Encourage your attendees to recycle their exhibition badges by including custom messages on the back of your badges, to get everyone to contribute to your sustainability initiatives.

For more information on switching to sustainable event badges and lanyard solutions, or for more advice on recycling old conference badges and lanyards, get in touch with us today.