“Is Uncle Sam doing anything to green-up how they make the Greenbacks?”



Like many people these days, I prefer sliding my debit card to carrying cash. It’s just easier and my pockets don’t bulge. Recently though, I made a cash purchase and as I handed over the bills I got to thinking about the millions, probably billions, of these paper thingies the US treasury spits out every year. Imagine all that dough! was my first thought. But my environmental shoulder angel, who keeps my greenie focus, responded, “That amount of stuff probably impacts the environment.” Which I was inclined to agree with since she’s usually right; but I added “I have yet to see anyone throwing money away, especially in today’s slumping economy, so how can using money be a devilish thing to do?” It was then I had an epiphany: Of course! The true environmental impact has to be in the production of the bills! Which brought me to the big question: “Is Uncle Sam doing anything to green-up how they make the Greenbacks?” Here’s what I found out. 

First, there are two things you need to know about making money. Paper money isn’t paper at all. (Thankfully for those of us who rarely empty our pockets before doing a load of laundry). US bills are actually a mix of cotton, silk, and linen. And as far as the ink goes, it’s a special blend only sold to Uncle Sam for currency printing (to foil would-be counterfeiters). So, consequently, money-making is not only a little messy, but it requires some clean up as well.

Being in the money-making biz for a while, the Federal Government’s Dept of the Treasury, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, understands this and issued a document in 2009 that outlined more eco-friendly practices for currency production. As of that printing, several practices were either in place or destined for future use. The document addressed several issues, such as waste removal and energy consumption. Here are a few of the highlights:

Because our dollar bills are printed on metal plates, these plates need to be cleaned often so the images are crystal clear.

A specific wiping solution is used for this task, But in the Bureau’s document they recommend recycling this wiping solution and predict this activity “will save approximately 12 million gallons of water annually”.  With less solution, fewer chemicals will be sued and less heat will be required to heat the solution. “The total savings for water, chemicals, and energy is projected to be approximately $1 million annually.”

The document also highlighted one of the Bureau’s locations, The Western Currency Facility (WCF), located in Fort Worth Texas, which has implemented a couple of eco-friendly ideas recently. They not only installed a cool roof that meets California Cool Roof Standards and reduced their electrical usage by 20% in 2009, as compared to the same time in 2008,” but they changed their equipment and lighting schedules for an overall saving $470,000.

This same facility (WCF) also bought two new, diesel powered, eco-friendly tour buses in 2009.



These buses have air conditioning systems that “can be operated using an independent electric supply when the bus is not in transit. This lowers the Bureau’s carbon footprint, while maintaining a comfortable vehicle temperature for riders.”

And finally, at least for this small piece, The Bureau as a whole has diverted over 5.5 million pounds of solid waste from landfills through recycling, re-use, and remanufacture.

So, even if you’re like me, personally not using a lot of “paper money” anymore, it’s still important to know the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is striving to make the production of our greenbacks a little “greener”. 



And that’s a good thing, for when it’s all said and done, everyone benefits with changes like these, regardless of your currency of choice.