Mastercard Confirms A Global Plan To Recycle Credit Cards

Mastercard, one of the largest payment companies globally, has unveiled a global project that will support the recycling of credit and debit cards. The launch is part of a plan by Mastercard to save the billions of cards that are currently in circulation in the industry from ending up in landfills.

Mastercard unveils global plan to recycle credit cards

Companies around the world have been making a plan to promote environmental sustainability, and Mastercard is not being left behind. The company now wants to ensure that billions of cards that have already been issued to users will not be deposited in a landfill.

Mastercard had initially unveiled a partnership with the British lender known as HSBC Holdings Plc. The partnerships have happened across eight branches in the United Kingdom. Mastercard has also said that banks globally were looking forward to be part of the program to pursue economies of scale.

The president of cyber and intelligence at Mastercard Inc, Ajay Bhalla, commented on this plan, saying that the company was inviting all card issuers globally to partner with it. According to Bhalla, despite the region where the card issuers are located, the company would support the move to support recycling for customers.

Under this plan, Mastercard will also be required to offer the shredding machines that are needed to HSBC. Each of these machines has the ability to hold 10,000 cards, which have a total weight of 50 kg, equivalent to 110 pounds of plastic. After the shredding machine is full, it will be transferred to a plastic recycling facility where the cards will be recycled.

The financial information about this plan has yet to be revealed. The pilot project has been scheduled to run for the first six months. During this phase, the customers will be able to recycle any plastic card, including cards from rival payment cards.

The head of wealth and personal banking at HSBC UK, Jose Carvalho, commented on the development, saying that the recycling pilot phase will provide the company with important insights and will also assist the company in meeting its long-term plans.

Minimizing pollution from payment cards

Mastercard currently has around 3.1 billion cards in circulation. Every year, Mastercard estimates that 600 million cards are issued across the industry, with each of these cards having a life span of around five years.

A report by Nilson analyzing the industry estimates that the circulating cards as of 2022 were at nearly 26 billion. The report has also predicted that the figure could increase to 28.7 billion by 2027.

The increased use of plastics globally has been a major environmental challenge. Plastic waste is usually left in landfills, rivers, and oceans. Moreover, the manufacturing process for plastic waste has become a leading source of greenhouse gas attributed to global warming.