Workers dump shredded banknotes at an incineration power plant in Yancheng, East China's Jiangsu province. (Photo/CFP)
As people welcome the new 100-yuan banknote issued nine days ago, its old version is heading for ashes as billions worth of the old notes are burned in east China's Jiangsu Province.
It is not to love the new and loath the old, but rather to turn the waste into wealth as mutilated 100-yuan banknote can be used to generate power through the incinerator in the city of Yancheng.
Located in Yandong County, Yancheng Biomass Power Generation Co.Limited has been recycling all the country's mutilated 100-yuan banknotes since 2014.
They measure money not by face value, but by weight. Tonnes of mutilated 100-yuan banknotes are shredded and sent to Yancheng via truck.
"Each truck carries 30 tonnes of shredded currency, the original value of which is worth three billion yuan (about 0.5 billion U.S. dollar)," said Zhu Hongwei, fuel engineer of the company, "We transport five trucks every month."
Considering 100-kilowatt-hour usage of electricity for a family per month, a truck of burned currency can supply a single family with power for 25 years, generating 30,000 kilowatt hours.
Compared to other biomass fuel like sawdust, the burned mutilated banknotes have a high caloric value and low water content, which are more suitable for biomass power generation.
Moreover, the remaining ashes after incineration can be made into bricks, providing people with apartments built from money-made walls.
The company has incinerated about 2,000 tonnes of mutilated banknotes since May, 2014. By a dust remover and making building bricks out of ashes, it ensures the sustainable and harmless disposal.
