Mastercard launches plan to recycle credit cards

Payments company Mastercard launched an international plan on Wednesday to recycle credit and debit cards to save billions of cards in circulation across the industry from landfills.

The company is partnering with British lender HSBC Holdings Plc in eight branches in Britain. It also said banks across the world will be able to join the programme and participate in building economies of scale.

“We are inviting all card issuers around the world to partner with us, no matter what region they are in, and offer card recycling to their customers,” said the president of cyber and intelligence at Mastercard Inc., Ajay Bhalla.

The company will provide shredding machines to HSBC that can hold up to 10,000 cards, or around 50 kg of plastic.

“This recycling pilot will provide us with some very important insight and will inform our longer-term plans,” said Jose Carvalho, head of wealth and personal banking at HSBC UK.

The move comes to help find solutions for the ongoing environmental challenges caused by plastic waste.