Reuters reports that, after successfully partnering with a bank in the UK, Mastercard now looks forward to collaborating with other banks around the world that want to become more sustainable, some of which already started their own initiatives.

Ajay Bhalla, president of cyber and intelligence at Mastercard Inc., said that "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."

As the collaboration with HSBC Holdings already started in the UK, Mastercard will provide the company with shredding machines, which will be able to process up to 10.000 cards or about 50 kilograms of plastic. Once full, the machines can be sent to recycling centers, which can further process the plastic waste.

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

With 3.1 billion cards in circulation as of right now, Mastercard estimates an annual production of 600 million, with the estimated lifespan being of five years.