New Service to Help Explore Biodegradability of Banknotes

Blendpaper was one of the presenters in the second episode of the Cash & Payments Sustainability Forum™ online seminar series on repurposing unfit cotton banknotes.

One of the other speakers was from Biobanknote, a developer of practical solutions for composting banknotes and banknote waste, which is then used to improve soil and grow trees (see CN February 2023). The Colombian-based company is now offering a new service to help central banks understand and explore options for composting their banknote shreds.

A frequent question is whether countries’ banknotes are biodegradable. Biobanknote has worked with a local laboratory to carry out an analysis to determine what enzymes and micro-organisms are required and how long it will take for the banknote to biodegrade. Effectively this determines the level of composting required and the ‘recipe’ to achieve a high-quality soil amendment.