BB in a fix over cancelled, torn currency notes

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has long been facing serious trouble with stockpiles of cancelled and torn notes as the Department of Environment (DoE) has refused permission to it to burn those, sources said.
"A huge amount of torn notes has remained stockpiled in vaults of different branches of the BB across the country. There is no available space in the vaults now to store other notes. As a result, we have been facing serious difficulties in keeping the currency notes properly," they said.
The DoE refuses to give any 'no-objection certificate' (NOC) to burn these notes citing environment pollution.
On the other hand, the country's board mill owners are reluctant to buy the torn and unused notes due to synthetic elements in those, the concerned BB source said.
"The vaults of the BB branches in Rangpur, Barisal and Khulna now have no capacity to store these notes. The same situation prevails in vaults of its Motihjeel, Sylhet, Bogra, Rajshahi and Chittagong offices. But in some of these offices, we are burning some on a limited scale to make room in the vaults," he said.
"Cancelled notes are piling up as we can't burn those fully," Md. Humayun Kabir, General Manager, the Department of Currency Management of the BB told the FE.
Earlier, the millers bought the notes from the BB for making different kinds of boards. Presently, they do not show any more interest to buy those.
"It is quite impossible now to produce a standard quality board piece with the notes due to existence of synthetic in those. Earlier, it was possible to use those as there was no synthetic element," an industry insider said.
Sources in the BB Currency Department said, some 10 per cent of synthetic ingredients is now being used to make the currency notes for increasing its longevity.
"The BB collects torn, decayed and split notes from different financial institutions. Then we punch the notes so that those could not used again by some  dishonest quarters," a BB high official told the FE.
Sources said the BB has been experiencing the problem with such notes since 2011.
According to a directive of the DoE issued in 2006, no cancelled notes can be burned as this might pollute the environment.
It was also mentioned in the directive that the cancelled notes could be used as briquette or sold to any board mill or factory for use as raw materials.    
The BB has ten branches in Motijheel, Sadarghat, Mymensingh,  Barisal, Khulna, Sylhet, Bogra, Rajshahi, Rangpur and Chitagong.

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