SANTANDER has launched a pilot plastic card recycling scheme at 28 of its UK branches – including Keighley.

Members of the public can take unwanted credit and debit cards into the Bow Street branch and use a self-service machine to shred them into more than 100 pieces.

The shredded cards will then be recycled into plastic pellets ready for reuse.

Santander is the first bank in the UK to trial the initiative, which will run initially for up to six months.

Fermin Martinez de Hurtado Yela, for Santander UK, says: "Bank cards typically comprise several layers of laminated plastic, metal oxide particles, solvents, inks and a magnetic strip and are traditionally difficult to recycle. As such they can end up in landfill and take hundreds of years to break down.

"With 92 million debit cards and 60 million credit cards currently in UK circulation, this is a significant challenge but one we want to play our part in helping tackle."

Last year, Santander announced that by 2025 all its debit and credit cards in the UK, Spain, Portugal and Poland would be made from sustainable materials – in line with a commitment to achieve zero net carbon emissions by 2050.