The Bank of England is looking into options of moving towards plastic banknotes. Using polymer banknotes is already introduced in Australia and Canada and has shown to be a sustainable option. The plastic notes are hard to fake, are durable and stay cleaner for longer because the material is more resistant to dirt and moisture.
The Bank of England has issued paper banknotes ever since the central bank was created in 1694 as a way of raising money for King William III's war against France. The first fully printed notes appeared in 1853. Before that, notes were handwritten and signed by one of the bank's cashiers. (Reuters)
What an interesting development after 319 years! It just makes me wonder why they haven't developed a banknote that will last for decades instead of (only) 2 years. Although we probably don't want to know what you can find on a banknote after more than 2 years, knowing that an average banknote contains 26,000 bacteria....
