THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Since the Modi government announced the ban on 500 and 1000 rupee notes, over 8 trillion rupees worth demonetised currency has been deposited in banks across India. With so much old currency collected, a Reserve Bank of India branch in Kerala has found an alternative to burning them.
Thiruvananthapuram RBI branch in a bid to recycle old currency notes, and has been selling them to India's only hardboard making factory, The Western India Plywoods Limited. The company gets the old currency in shredded form, and converts it into pulp, later using a combination of around 5 per cent of the pulp with 95 per cent of wood pulp to make hardboards. PK Mayan Mohamed, Managing Director of the factory, said, "It was not easy for us in the beginning. Currency paper is very strong pulp and not easily recyclable. But our engineers researched and innovated and we finally succeeded. We've been able to cut costs as well as be eco-friendly. So, I am happy with the decision."
PM Sudhakaran Nair, GM, said, "Previously RBI was just burning it and now we are able to use. We have to be careful about the percentage of the pulp from old currencies we use. If we get that wrong, the end- product will be a waste." The factory has received around 80 metric tonnes of shredded demonetised notes in the last three weeks.
