Five years of demonetisation: How over 800 tonnes of shredded notes ended up in South Africa

One portion of it – more than 800 tonnes, according to our
source – after being verified, sorted, shredded and recycled was sent to a
factory in the North Malabar region of Kerala, where it was pressed into pulp
to produce hard boards. Guess where the hard boards were then sent? All the way
to South Africa. 

The journey of the hard boards to the land that played a
crucial role in the making of our Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, whose
face incidentally adorned the Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes that were demonetised,
was triggered by a brainwave at the Reserve Bank of India’s Thiruvananthapuram
office. This was one among the 27 shredding offices opened by India’s central
bank. 

A tender issued to Western India Plywood Limited (WIPL) one
month prior to demonetisation went on to prove prescient and helped the bank
when it came to disposing of the heaps of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 bundles that
had suddenly landed at their doorstep. The bank promptly entrusted WIPL,
situated over 450 km away in Kannur district, with the task of dealing with the
shredded Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. WIPL was only too happy to employ them in
their daily production of hard boards and soft boards. 800 tonnes of shredded
notes were dealt with in this fashion over a period of one year.

“Our association with the RBI began before the note
ban. We decided to experiment with currency notes and applied for a tender with
the bank. We had our first load in October 2016, even before
demonetisation,” a spokesperson of WIPL had told newindianexpress.com.

Due to the high quality of paper with which they are made,
the demonetised currency notes, like all currency notes in circulation, were
generally thick. The shredded notes were first handed to recycling dealers who
converted them into ‘briquettes’ before returning them to the RBI. Briquette is
the general term used to describe a compressed block of any combustible biomass
material, mostly cylindrical in shape. The currency briquettes were then
transported to the yards of WIPL at the expense of the bank.

Generally, wood chips are pressed to pulp for the production
of factory hard boards, and currency briquettes are added to provide further
strength. Because of the same reason, only a small proportion of the briquettes
can be used in the production or else the pulp will get ruined.

Made from compressed wood fibre, hard boards are largely
used in the construction and furniture industries. Though plywood is the major
product of WIPL, they also have a separate section for hard boards and soft
boards.

Compared to the wooden raw materials, the soiled notes take
more time to get compressed. While the technical details were not revealed, it
was confirmed that no additional equipment was needed for processing the
demonetised currency notes.

Established in 1945, Western India Plywood Limited
is one of the biggest wood-based industrial integrated complexes in South-East
Asia with an employee strength of 1200. It continues to receive soiled notes
from the RBI even now which it continues to use in making hard boards exported
to many countries. Courtesy: www.newindianexpress.com