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Initially partnering with British lender HSBC Holdings Plc in
eight branches in Britain, Mastercard said banks across the
world, some of which have launched local initiatives, would be
able to join the programme and help build 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 Ajay Bhalla, president of
cyber and intelligence at Mastercard Inc.
Under the plan, Mastercard will provide shredding machines to
HSBC, each of which is capable of holding 10,000 cards,
equivalent to 50 kg (110 pounds) of plastic. Once full, it will
be transferred to a plastic recycling facility.
Financial details about the plan were not disclosed. The pilot
project, which will run for an initial six months, will allow
customers to recycle any plastic card, including those from
rivals.
"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.
Currently, Mastercard said it has around 3.1 billion cards in
circulation. Each year, it estimates around 600 million cards
are produced by the industry, each with a life span of around
five years.
The Nilson Report, which analyses the industry, put total cards
in circulation at nearly 26 billion in 2022, and forecast that
could rise to 28.4 billion by 2027.
Soaring plastic use has created one of the world's biggest
environmental challenges, with plastic waste buried in landfills
or polluting rivers and oceans. The manufacturing process for
plastic is also a major source of planet-warming greenhouse gas.
(Reporting by Simon Jessop; Additional reporting by Tommy
Reggiori Wilkes; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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