4.4 Reading: banknotes

In Britain today, there are around three billion banknotes in circulation worth over 58 billion pounds. In 2013 alone, the Bank of England issued 760 million new banknotes and destroyed 845 million old ones.
As well as the £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes commonly found in the nation’s wallets and purses, there are just over 4,000 £lm and £100m notes - known as Giants and Titans - not in circulation, with a value of around £8bn. These are used internally by banks and are not legal tender. Nevertheless, they are carefully locked away.

Paper money will soon be a thing of the past in Britain as the Bank of England introduced plastic banknotes from 2016. Australia was the first country to go plastic in 1988, and more than 20 other countries including New Zealand, Mexico and Canada have since switched. Plastic notes are highly durable, lasting for around two years, or four times longer than the average paper note. Crucially plastic money is waterproof so it can survive washing machines, rainstorms and dips in the ocean.
Although polymer notes are more expensive to produce, their durability makes them cheaper and more ecologically sound over time.

The average paper banknote in Britain lasts around 6 months before it becomes damaged or worn and must be removed from circulation. In the UK, old notes used to be burnt, but in a move to be greener, the majority are now shredded, compacted and then used with other organic materials to manufacture agricultural compost.
Between 1988 and 1992 at the site where this shredding takes place, £600,000 worth of notes that were intended for destruction were stolen by three couples who worked there. The couples managed to sidestep security controls and remove the notes from the site by concealing them in their underwear.