Every day, millions of banknotes pass from hand to hand in our country and very rarely do we think about the ecological impact caused by using this money when environment. For this reason, the Condusef magazine reveals this enigma.
under the World Environment Day which has been held every June 5 since 1973 and whose objective is raise awareness among people to generate actions in favor of the environment and the good use of the planet’s natural resources, reveal the impact generated by banknotes in Mexico.
Magazine Protect Your Money of the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services (driving) of the month of June 2023 published an article in which he exposes the actions that one of the most important organizations in the Mexican financial system has undertaken: the Bank of Mexico (Banxico)to contribute to the care of the environment.
An analysis of the environmental impact and life cycle of Mexican banknotes, with which they reveal how much the banknotes contaminate in Mexico. Something important to mention is that the only instance or organization that has the power to produce or authorize the issuance of new pieces of banknotes in Mexico is the Bank of Mexico or Banxico.
Life cycle of a Mexican banknote
According to this article in the Condusef Magazine, strict quality control is carried out at each stage of the banknote manufacturing process. The responsibility of the Bill Factory ends when the bills are delivered to the Main Box of the Bank of Mexico, the entity responsible for distributing the bills throughout the country.
Now, for a bill to be considered as a currency in Mexico; You must meet several characteristics to be able to enter the exchange market:
be universally accepted.
That its life cycle can meet several years of circulation.
Have security measures that allow authentication and reduce the risk of forgery.
Banco de México has a distribution scheme in which its central office and five branches of the Bank itself participate, which are strategically located in the national territory.
Some bank branches called correspondents also participate. These act on behalf of Banco de México and are managed by the central bank itself, either directly by the central office or by one of its branches. The central office sends bills to both the correspondent offices and the branches of Banco de México.
In turn, each of the branches sends tickets to the correspondents that it manages. Thus, commercial banks can go to Banco de México or one of its correspondents to withdraw bills. Subsequently, the Banks deliver or receive bills from the public through their windows and ATMs.
In what is called the Return, the banknotes return to the Banks, either through deposits or payments, they separate the banknotes that show clear signs of dirt, wear or abuse from those that can circulate again. Damaged banknotes return to Banco de México in the form of deposits, either through the central office, branches or correspondents.
After that, the Review and Destruction stage is carried out, in which Banco de México has reader-classifying equipment to verify the authenticity of the banknotes, and finally, destroy those that are damaged.
What is the environmental impact of manufacturing Mexican Banknotes?
Although Banco de México is the central bank of the Mexican State, which by constitutional mandate is responsible for providing banknotes and coins to the economy, within the framework of compliance with the issuance of banknotes and seeking to combine productive activities with respect and care to the environment, Banxico in 2008 incorporated an Action Plan of preventive and corrective measures regarding the emission of pollutants into the environment, as well as the treatment of hazardous waste.
Derived from this action plan, the following conclusions were reached regarding the manufacture and issuance of Mexican banknotes:
Two types of substrate were analyzed: polymeric and cotton of high durability, Of the two types of Mexican banknotes analyzed, the one printed on a polymeric substrate presents a better environmental performance than the one on a cotton substrate.
The half-life of the banknote is essential in the generation of environmental impacts, due to the fact that a longer duration in circulation contributes to a lower rate of replacement of unsuitable pieces, influencing a lower requirement for the production of new banknotes to replace it.
In regards to sensitivity analysisthe need to participate together with commercial banks and ATM manufacturers was identified, in strategies aimed at maximizing the use of electrical energy in these equipments.
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