Papierfabrik Louisenthal GmbH won the award for its Banknote Fiber Extraction (BFE) solution.  Central banks are seeking new ways to use unfit cotton banknotes, going beyond burning them for energy recovery to create a proper circular economy.

While shredded cotton banknotes are a valuable material, to convert them into new products is not a one step process.  Louisenthal’s BFE solution addresses this problem in a novel, low impact way transforming unfit banknotes into material useable and useful for recycling and reworking in business areas which nearly all economies have.

While the BFE equipment can process papermill waste, it has also been designed to be connected directly with high speed sorting machines, and the output can be briquetted in the same way as traditional shreds.

This solution, therefore, is suitable for nearly all economies and extends the opportunity for cotton banknote waste to add value far beyond energy recovery solutions.

Commendations

In addition, two special commendations have been made for projects within this category which were assessed to have special merit:

First was CCL Secure, which has developed a Banknote Waste Management (BWM) programme which helps its customers recycle their unfit polymer notes.  CCL Secure in Latin America has followed an extended producer responsibility route to help customers manage their polymer waste and access appropriate recyclers whether in the country, region or further afield.  The result is that all its customers recycle their polymer waste.

Second was Banco de Portugal, which has initiated a programme of sustainability work across energy, the circular economy, less cash movement and coin management, the last of these being a pioneering coin swap agreement across the Eurosystem. Banco de Portugal has been working with Banque de France and Casa da Moeda do Brasil. This is a tangible example of what a central bank can achieve with a strong focus on sustainability.