Often you must have heard that when currency notes get torn, they are taken back by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). These torn, old and out of fashion notes were destroyed or buried in the ground. However, now RBI has found a new way to use these notes.
RBI has decided to recycle these unused notes instead of burning or melting them. In its recently released annual report, RBI has told that these notes will now be used to make particle boards, from which tables, chairs and other furniture can be made.
How were these notes disposed of till now?
Every year more than 15,000 tonnes of such notes are deposited with the Reserve Bank, which become out of use due to being old or torn or any other reason. Till now these notes were either buried or destroyed by burning. This process was not only expensive, but also harmful to the environment.
What will change?
RBI has now contacted companies that make particle boards. Under the scheme, RBI will sell these damaged notes to these companies by shredding them. Thus the companies will get cheap and durable raw material, as well as the cost of destroying them for RBI will also be reduced. This process will generate additional income for the bank.
Environment will not be harmed
This step of RBI will not cause any harm to the environment. Earlier, the process of burning notes or dumping them in landfills was also considered harmful to the environment. That is why the bank has got a study done on this subject from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Institute of Wood Science and Technology. In this study, it has been found that shreds of old notes can be effectively used in particle board production.
Prakash Kumar Pandey