Using Unfit Cotton Banknote Shreds to Grow Trees

Composting unfit cotton banknotes that have been shredded sits higher in the waste disposal hierarchy than sending it to landfill or burning it for energy recovery. Biobanknote is a leader in developing practical composting solutions and it has now developed an additional option, BIOBANKMULCH®.

Biobanknote was founded in 2020 to promote initiatives, activities and projects that reduce the environmental impacts generated by the banknote industry. It is a partnership between two Colombian companies – ConTREEbute and Cruz Díaz e Hijos; with Control Ambiental as a strategic partner. It has worked with the Central Bank of Colombia to plant trees to help offset the environmental impact of Colombia’s cash cycle, and to compost banknote waste for use as fertilisier (BIOFORT), which is being used in the reforestation programme.

Most recently, in collaboration with the Bank, it has developed BIOBANKMULCH to help protect and assist the newly planted trees to grow and thrive.

The product is made using unfit cotton banknotes that have been withdrawn from circulation and shredded. The waste is composted and turned into a protective ring that is put around newly planted saplings. This solution means that material which might otherwise have gone to landfill or been burnt for energy recovery has an extended useful life in helping regenerate the natural environment.

A patent application has been submitted for BIOBANKMULCH, which is being made near Bogotá in a factory solely used for its production. To date, nearly 10,000 BIOBANKMULCH rings have been successfully tested in tree plantations carried out in different regions of Colombia.

Environmental benefits

• Healthy trees

Newly planted trees are vulnerable if surrounding grass and other vegetation grows over them and if they experience either too much, or too little, moisture. The roots need the opportunity to develop.

The BIOBANKMULCH ring around the young tree means grass and weeds can’t grow, giving the tree a chance to breath and grow. The mulch both absorbs and holds moisture, releasing it to the tree as it is needed.

Finally, the BIOBANKMULCH contains controlled concentrations of fungi (mycorrhizae), beneficial bacteria and other small species that contribute to the health and good and strong growth of the tree. All this gives the tree a good chance of becoming established and to grow healthily.

• Healthy soil

Healthy soil captures and holds CO2. Cotton paper has a high level of carbon content which, due to natural effects, is integrated into the soil from the BIOBANKMULCH. This CO2 capture can be identified in two ways: 

Direct:

• Contribution of the ring in the storage of CO2, due to its slow incorporation into the soil.

• Contributes to improve the condition of the soil.

• Stabilises the structure and porosity of the soil.

Indirect:

• Improves the development of young plants through the preservation of microbial life in the root zone.

• A selection of microorganisms and mycorrhizae is incorporated into the ring to increase the growth capacity of plants.

The effect of this CO2 capture in the soil can be quantified in Life Cycle Analysis when comparing different disposal options.

Biobanknote is available to help central banks and the banknote industry dispose of banknote waste locally in environmentally useful ways, whether through composting or creating BIOBANKMULCH.