Sample of shredded money

Perhaps our most unusual new material is money!
With the generous support of the Bank of England, we can now supply you with old money destined for scrap. Each year several hundred tons of used bank notes are shredded, but incineration and land-fill are no longer considered acceptable options. The recycling options include pot plant compost, professional craft work, and the production of small products such as pencils. The latter are made using grinding and mixing processes to produce a homogeneous material which is extruded around a pencil core. Shredded notes leaving the Bank of England range in particle size from dust to pieces of paper up to 2cm square. The average particle size is around 3mm x 3mm which means that most of the pieces can be visually identified as money.

Schools pilot work has shown that the use of this material has high motivational impact and can inspire design and make tasks based on the very topical theme of recycling. It can be used, or example, in the context of mini-enterprise where the shredded material is encapsulated in a small products – e.g., containers or personal organiser sleeves. It can also be combined with recycled paper in paper mache or re-formed paper. Other types of paper are increasingly being recycled like this to make egg boxes (the traditional use), packaging pieces (replacing expanded polystyrene) and even furniture.
By arrangement, the Bank of England shredded notes are free but a nominal packing and handling charge is added.
Money is available here at MUTR.