2017-07-29 Sat

Carbon Trust has revealed that the latest £5 and £10 notes of England have carbon footprints 16% and 8% lower than their earlier paper versions. The new £10 banknote was released on 18th July. These are 2.5 times more durable than paper banknotes and also come with better security features.

The PAS 2050 international standard was used for certification. The test includes life-cycle emissions like production, use in circulation and disposal. The extended lifetime of these notes is the reason behind the reduction of carbon footprint. This will allow the Bank of England to print lesser notes to replace damaged notes in circulation. Lesser resources will be used in production which will again reduce emissions. Unusable old polymer notes will be recycled completely.

The new £10 note will be issued on 14 September 2017. The older paper banknotes will still be in use but will be slowly removed from circulation. The £20 note will feature J.M.W Turner and will be released in 2020.