The life cycle of money
Raise and Extract
Modern day US currency is 25% linen and 75% cotton also, red and blue synthetic fibers have been added in order to prevent counterfeiting. Linen is a fiber that comes out of the flax seed through extraction this material has been used for hundreds of years. Flax is grown mainly in Western Europe and Ukraine after harvested the flax is turned into linen in countries in Eastern Europe and China. Cotton is mass produced through out the world according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in 2011 nearly 25 million metric tons of cotton were produced. the US is the 3rd leading producer of cotton and it is grown throughout the south and Midwest. It is harvested mechanically in the US by a cotton picker.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linen
www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0774850.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linen
www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0774850.html
Process
The cotton and linen are made into a blend and they are made into paper sheets or a substrate. All substrate used by the government is provided by Crane & Co. The substrate is cut to the size of the printing plate which has the capacity of printing 32 bills at once. Then the steel dies have to be made in order for all dollar bills to be the same. Skilled designers use a special pen to engrave a soft roll with the dollar mold the roll later hardens this die is then screened onto a steel plate 32 times by plastic and then it is inspected in order to be used at the mint
http://www.ehow.com/list_7450942_six_step-process-paper-money-made.html
http://www.ehow.com/list_7450942_six_step-process-paper-money-made.html
Manufacture
The substrate is fed into multiple rotary presses where its is squeezed between the ink covered master plates and thin put under extremely high pressure. This process is so complex that the ink appears raised unlike any other machine this deters counterfeiters from making an exact duplicate of US currency. After this the bills must be individually numbered each dollar bill has it's own unique number. When the ink has dried the bills go through a stamping process that places the serial number and the seal of the US treasury on them. Finally the bills are placed on a belt where they are cut by sharp blades into their size and then they are collected into plies of 100 bills and then banded by paper.
http://www.ehow.com/list_7450942_six_step-process-paper-money-made.html
http://www.ehow.com/list_7450942_six_step-process-paper-money-made.html
Use
After manufactures the bills are placed on armored trucks and sent to Federal Reserve banks nation wide where they are held until a bank is in need of cash the Federal Reserve branch transports it to the banks where it is loans or withdrawn by citizens. From that point money is used to purchase everything and anything a citizen desires.
www.federalreserve.gov/pf/pdf/pf_7.pd
www.federalreserve.gov/pf/pdf/pf_7.pd
Disposal/reuse
When money is old and worn out it can be taken to a bank and exchanged for new bills. When the money is in this bad of shape it is shredded at the Federal Reserve, 7,000 tons of bills are shredded each year that is roughly 10 billion dollars. This used to be buried into landfills but the space for landfills is running out so the government is finding companies willing to recycle the bills. Recycled money has been used for making roofing tiles, particle board, fuel pellets, stationery, packing material and artwork. According to Aaron Cohen CEO of Terra roofing the long fibers in money add to the strength of the product. Currently the Los Angeles Federal Reserve is working out a deal with Terra Roofing to use the cash confetti in shingles. They make special fireproof roofing with cement and wastepaper which could end up being paper money. Since the cost of disposing of the money is so expensive the Richmond FED is giving 135 tons of worn bills to Cemtech to make into fuel pellets, this reduces the cost of disposal be nearly 1/3. Many solutions to recycling money have been deemed ineffective because of the chemicals found in money. Another deal in the works is to make old money into stationary, this would be done with the New York Federal Reserve and Crane & Company.
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/22/us/in-recycling-of-greenbacks-new-meaning-for-old-money.html
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19940530&id=fgRQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iwkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6260,7748186
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/22/us/in-recycling-of-greenbacks-new-meaning-for-old-money.html
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19940530&id=fgRQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iwkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6260,7748186
Crane & Co. has gone green by recycling used substrate into stationary so it ends where it starts
http://www.celebrityletters.com/tag/crane-paper-co/
http://www.celebrityletters.com/tag/crane-paper-co/
Fuel Pellets that came from wood and cotton byproducts (money)
Former CEO Lansing Crane holds a $100 bill printed on his paper
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/crane_company_of_dalton_buys_m.html
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/crane_company_of_dalton_buys_m.html
Conclusion questions
A.) The product lifecycle is a 5-step cycle that describes from what the product is made how it is made, used, then disposed of and recycled
B.) In order to preserve a fragile environment and in some cases combat scarcity companies should make sure a product is decomposable or can be reused
C.) I would change the chemicals in the ink because many possible reuse solutions were thrown out because of that
D.)I think money will continue to evolve paper money will always be around, as seen with the new $100 bill money will start to be produced more efficiently
E.) A trade-off is when you lose one quality aspect to gain another sometimes more important one
F.) No I don't think so
G.) It is important to recycle products like money because landfill space is running out and when decomposing recyclable trash can emit dangerous gasses and chemicals while at the same time it could be reused.
H.) When designing a product you must consider not only the products period of usability but the time after this period.
I.) Recycling is a movement that needs much human support and needs a large majority to take part in order to make the necessary impacts.
J.) I already help even though no one takes my recycling my parents drive it to Wal-Mart I could try to increase the number of people who do this
B.) In order to preserve a fragile environment and in some cases combat scarcity companies should make sure a product is decomposable or can be reused
C.) I would change the chemicals in the ink because many possible reuse solutions were thrown out because of that
D.)I think money will continue to evolve paper money will always be around, as seen with the new $100 bill money will start to be produced more efficiently
E.) A trade-off is when you lose one quality aspect to gain another sometimes more important one
F.) No I don't think so
G.) It is important to recycle products like money because landfill space is running out and when decomposing recyclable trash can emit dangerous gasses and chemicals while at the same time it could be reused.
H.) When designing a product you must consider not only the products period of usability but the time after this period.
I.) Recycling is a movement that needs much human support and needs a large majority to take part in order to make the necessary impacts.
J.) I already help even though no one takes my recycling my parents drive it to Wal-Mart I could try to increase the number of people who do this