Editing Banknote (section)

==Destruction==
[[File:5 Euro note in bad condition.jpg|thumb|right|A [[5 euro note]] that was repaired with [[Pressure-sensitive tape|plastic tape]] after being torn in half]]
{{Further|topic=the New York University scientific research project|Dirty Money Project}}
A banknote is removed from circulation because of everyday [[wear and tear]] from its handling. Banknotes are passed through a [[Banknote processing|banknote sorting]] machine to assess their authenticity and fitness for circulation, or may be classified unfit for circulation if they are worn, dirty, soiled, damaged, mutilated or torn. Unfit notes are returned to the [[central bank]] for secure online destruction by high-speed banknote sorting machines using a cross-cut shredder device similar to a [[paper shredder]] with security level P-5 (pieces smaller than 30&nbsp;mm<sup>2</sup>) according to the standard DIN 66399–2. This small size decomposes a banknote into typically more than 500 tiny pieces and rules out reconstruction like a jigsaw puzzle because the shreds from many banknotes are commingled.

A subsequent [[Briquette|briquettor]] compresses shredded paper material into a small cylindrical or rectangular form for disposal (e.g. [[landfill]] or burning).<ref>{{Cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW5GzwvnNsI| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211102/HW5GzwvnNsI| archive-date=2021-11-02 | url-status=live|title=Hungarians burn shredded money to stay warm|language=en|type=Motion picture|publisher=Agence France-Presse|year=2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Before the 1990s, unfit banknotes were destroyed by [[incineration]], with a higher risk of manipulations.

When a Federal Reserve Bank of the [[United States]] receives a cash deposit from a commercial bank or another [[financial institution]], it checks the individual notes to determine whether they are fit for future circulation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.frbservices.org/assets/financial-services/cash/federal-reserve-fitness-guidelines.pdf|title=Fitness Guidelines for Federal Reserve Notes|date=2019-02-07|access-date=2019-07-10|website=Federal Reserve System Cash Product Office (CPO)|archive-date=9 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709221641/https://www.frbservices.org/assets/financial-services/cash/federal-reserve-fitness-guidelines.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> About one-third of the notes that the Fed receives are unfit, and the Fed destroys them. US dollar banknotes last an average of more than five years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/fedpoint/fed01.html|title=How Currency Gets into Circulation|access-date=2019-07-09|website=Federal Reserve Bank of New York|year=2013|archive-date=17 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717223908/https://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/fedpoint/fed01.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Contaminated banknotes are also decommissioned and removed from circulation, primarily to prevent the spread of diseases. A Canadian government report indicates:

{{quote|text=Types of contaminants include: notes found on a corpse, stagnant water, contaminated by human or animal body fluids such as urine, feces, vomit, infectious blood, fine hazardous powders from detonated explosives, [[dye pack]] and/or drugs...<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/Business/article/261441|title=Bankers wipe out dirty money|last=Trichur|first=Rita|work=Toronto Star|date=28 September 2007|access-date=28 September 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071016064131/http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/261441| archive-date= 16 October 2007 <!--DASHBot-->|url-status = live}}</ref>}}

In the US, the nickname "Fed Shreds" refers to paper money which has been shredded after becoming unfit for circulation. Although these shredded banknotes are generally landfilled, they are sometimes sold or given away in small bags as [[souvenir]]s or as briquettes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/fedpoint/fed11.html|title=Currency Processing and Destruction|access-date=2019-07-09|website=Federal Reserve Bank of New York|year=2014|archive-date=6 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706140721/https://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/fedpoint/fed11.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Since 2012, the [[Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis]] has also donated shredded banknotes to local farms for use in [[Compost|composting]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=“Black Gold” Begins with Reams of Green: How Retired Dollars End Up as Compost |url=https://www.stlouisfed.org/open-vault/2024/sep/how-retired-dollars-end-up-as-compost |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=www.stlouisfed.org |language=en}}</ref>

[[Polymer banknote]]s may be shredded and then melted down and [[recycling|recycled]] to form plastic products like building components, plumbing fittings, or compost bins.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://banknotes.rba.gov.au/production-and-distribution/recycling/|title=Recycling|access-date=2019-07-09|website=Reserve Bank of Australia|archive-date=9 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709221642/https://banknotes.rba.gov.au/production-and-distribution/recycling/|url-status=live}}</ref>

<gallery widths="150" heights="100" caption="Shredded Banknotes">
File:Fed-Shreds of US dollar from FRB San Francisco.jpg|Fed Shreds as souvenir from the [[Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco]]
File:Shreds US Dollar Details.jpg|Shreds of unfit [[US dollar]] notes with a typical size of less than 1.5&nbsp;mm × 16&nbsp;mm
File:Shredded US-Dollar Notes front view.jpg|Shredded and briquetted US dollar notes from the [[Federal Reserve Bank of New York]] (approx.&nbsp;1000 pieces, 1&nbsp;kg)
File:Shredded US Dollar Notes rear view.jpg|Shredded and briquetted [[US dollar]] notes from the [[Federal Reserve Bank of New York]] (approx.&nbsp;1000 pieces, 1&nbsp;kg)
File:Geldscheine geschreddert und zu Block verpresst P5130163.jpg|Shredded and briquetted [[euro]] banknotes from the [[Deutsche Bundesbank]], Germany (approx.&nbsp;1&nbsp;kg) 
</gallery>