The theme of the month: 'Be part of the solution'

Week12Celebrate a green New Year
3.1.1 – Greening your Red Packets


Every year, Chinese people in Asia Pacific cities continue their New Year culture of giving out lucky Red Packets (Lai See). Using good-as-new bank notes rather than brand new ones for Red Packets is a better choice for the environment.

Traditionally, brand new banknotes are used as lai-see money to signify the start of a whole new year. In recent years, the note-issuing banks encourage customers to use the alternative, good-as-new notes (i.e. notes that have been circulated before but are still in mint condition) for the good cause of conserving resources (especially cotton and energy) in producing the new notes.

Source:
Friends of the Earth, HK
Q&A
Woo:
Do you know the impacts of using brand new banknotes as lai-see money during Chinese New Year celebrations in a modern city?

Wee:
1. The annual, one-off lai-see-related demand could require the production of up to some 300 million new banknotes every year.
2. It would take approximately 400 metric tonnes of cotton to make the special paper needed to print some 300 million banknotes.
3. The newly produced 300 million banknotes would weigh up to 300 metric tonnes, occupy 500 cubic metres of storage space, and fill 20 twenty-foot containers.
4. The note-issuing banks would need to arrange at least 500 trips with security escort to transport the brand new banknotes.


Select your answer below
A. 1 and 3 only
B. 1, 2 and 3
C. All of the above.




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