The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said that about 100 tonnes of bad naira notes were generated as waste and destroyed weekly through open-air burning at its 12 disposal centers across the country.

Meanwhile, the apex bank has commenced the process of collaboration with private firms to recycle bad naira notes instead of open-air burning which is detrimental to the environment and against the industry’s Sustainable Banking Principles. The CBN disclosed this in a notice titled, “Request for Proposal for the Recycling of Paper Banknote Wastes”.

Speaking on the rationale and efforts to substitute open-air destruction with recycling, the apex bank stated: “Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into reusable objects to prevent wastage of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, minimize energy usage, avoid probable air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from landfilling).