The Just Can’t Wait card has provided a ‘lifeline’ to over 130K people to date.
Around 14 million people in the UK live with a bladder condition and over 6.4 million live with a bowel condition. We’ve issued over 130,000 Just Can’t Wait cards in the UK, and we hear every day what a difference each card makes.
People tell us every day what a positive impact the toilet card has on their lives. Words like ‘confidence’ and ‘security’ are often used in their comments. But to reach more people, we need to think about our impact on the planet too. Each and every card makes our carbon footprint a little larger. We’re aware of that – and we’re taking action.
We’re proud to have launched the first ever toilet card using Smartphone Digital Wallet Technology – the NEW Digital Just Can’t Wait card. Over 5 thousand people have downloaded the card since we launched the Digital Card in March, and we’re not stopping there.
We’re doing even more towards this new agenda.
Going ‘Green’
We are ditching the plastic by going digital! We are reducing our carbon footprint vastly by limiting the amount we rely on physical processes, materials and chemicals in the following ways:
- Reducing our reliance on postal systems
- Reducing how much plastic we generate
- Reducing use of paper envelopes
- Reducing use of printed paper
So far we’ve achieved a 98.4% reduction in reliance on these precious resources.
Plastic cards also tend to get touched by others, when shown and can easily be lost or misplaced. We are also confident that the new digital card may prove to be more practical and hygienic, especially important during the pandemic.
The Just Can’t Wait Card design will always remain blue – but now it supports a more environmentally friendly agenda.
Why does this matter right now?
The past year has been an uncertain time for everyone, but it has given us all time to assess what is important in life and it has made us understand just how fragile this little planet is that we call home. At the Bladder and Bowel Community, lockdown has given us an opportunity to look at the impact of our work, and one of our aims was to look at what more we could do to protect our environment. One of the ways we could do this was to look at reducing our plastic waste and in turn reduce our carbon footprint.
Our pledge to be more environmentally responsible
As an organisation we have always been conscious about our environmental impact. Our information, newsletters and resources have all been moved online, eliminating the need to produce unnecessary booklets and our team have always worked remotely from home cutting out car journeys and decreasing our carbon emissions. We feel that now is the time to reduce our use of plastics.
We recognise that not everyone has a smartphone, and that wallet technology is not accessible to all. In order to ensure the Just Can’t Wait toilet card is accessible to all, we still offer the original Plastic Card for your wallet – with added benefits – the card is now 100% degradable!
The fully biodegradable plastic is durable, and better for the environment. If you need one, you just need to complete and return the application form online and enclose a small payment to cover postage and packaging.
What does a Grizzly Bear have in common with the Bladder and Bowel Community?
Well, as it turns out we don’t have that much in common, but did you know that by switching to digital we will be reducing our plastic waste by 0.3 tonnes a year – that’s the same weight as an adult grizzly bear! This reduces our carbon footprint by 20.64 tonnes of CO₂e.
That is a significant amount of plastic.
All of this is of course why the Just Can’t Wait card is now provided digitally. The card will always be free and available to all those with a bladder and bowel condition but is now available as a downloadable card that sits in your Apple or Android wallet on your smartphone.
Jo Umbers, CEO of Bladder and Bowel Community says
“We’re really excited about being able to bring you the NEW Digital Just Can’t Wait card on both Apple and Android. Not only will it help to keep our members safe with a contactless form of the card but it will also significantly reduce our plastic waste and be kinder to the environment.”
Our times are changing and so are we.
You can download the NEW Digital Just Card wait card now, for Free. We’ve been overwhelmed to receive such positive reviews since we launched the digital card, you can read these here.
We welcome you to download your card today. Just visit bladderandbowel.org/help-information/just-cant-wait-card/
