Hungary’s central bank burns old currency notes to help needy in cold snap

The central bank has been converting unusable notes into briquettes for the
past four years.

The centre and another association dealing with handicapped children in the
south-eastern town of Veszto are the institutions chosen to receive the
briquettes this year.

The head of the central bank’s cash logistics centre, Barnabas Ferenczi, said: “Our
examination showed that the heating properties of these shredded currency
briquettes are similar to brown coal so they are pretty useful for heating
… and resolve the problem to find fuel.”

They can be used in boilers that use mixed fuel, he added.

When the initiative started, the notes were simply burnt. Then the centre
decided to compress them into briquettes for better heating efficiency and
got machines to transform the unusable cash.

“Approximately, 200 billion Hungarian forints are turned into briquettes
that is useful for heating in poor regions.

“For the central bank, corporate social responsibility is an important
thing. That’s why we thought that since we destroy approximately 40 or 50
tons of currency every year, this thing can be useful for charities that
have a problem finding fuel for burning.”

It takes about 5 million forints (17,000 euros) to make a single one-kilogram
briquette. The notes are cut into pieces of 1 to 5 millimetres and then the
paper is compressed without any chemicals being added.

Every year, the central bank withdraws about a quarter of the notes in
circulation and prints new money to replace the unusable and old currency.

The process of turning old cash into briquettes is held under tight security.
People working here have to wear pocketless clothes.

The institutions are chosen they make bids for the briquettes. This year, some
20 organisations made a pitch.

The central bank just has one criterion: that the organisations chosen have no
public debt.

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