Recently we discussed one of the fundamental challenges that traditional 'paper' money must face, but there is also another issue it cannot escape: its durability. The 'legal tender' bills change hands constantly, and if there is one currency that has known the most extreme limits of paper fatigue, it is the US dollar. What does the Federal Reserve do with those worn-out bills? It destroys them... and turns them into compost.
Who Would Destroy Six Million Dollars?
When I say 'destroy' I don't mean squandering that money, but turning it into confetti with a shredder. As crazy as it sounds, that's one of the many jobs the US Federal Reserve has to do. Obviously, such a process is not exclusive to the dollar. Cash moves endlessly. Wallets, purses, pockets, envelopes, ATMs, fingers, nails, spontaneous artists who write and/or draw on it... under those conditions, wear is inevitable. Over the centuries, both the quality and resistance of paper money have increased, however, everything has its limit. Holes, missing corners, tape patches – the list goes on. Once it has fulfilled its life cycle, the bill must be destroyed.
A Fertile Second Life
The amount I mentioned above is the daily average processed and withdrawn from circulation by the New Orleans branch of the Federal Reserve. The standard procedure to dispose of destroyed money was (without much ceremony) to throw it into the nearest landfill, and after what the gentleman in the video calls 'much work and effort', they found a way to 'recycle' the destroyed dollars, turning them into compost (i.e., fertilizer). I imagine this whole process included adjustments to the ink to make it biodegradable (or additives to minimize its impact), but the point is that the resulting fertile soil is used by local urban farmers, with small gardens where they grow all kinds of vegetables and herbs.
Unless the general design hasn't changed, a US dollar bill is composed of 75 percent cotton and 25 percent linen (with some synthetic fibers interwoven), while its thickness is only 0.1 millimeters. These parameters give the average dollar about 22 months in circulation, so destroying money not only makes sense, but is absolutely necessary. The fact that it ends up as fertilizer for something to grow offers some poetic justice, considering everything that is destroyed for money...
