The UK’s Royal Mint has announced plans to build a new plant in Llantrisant, South Wales, to recover gold from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

As has been well documented, sensational and alarmist claims in the media at the outset of the pandemic that handling cash transfers COVID has done long term and potentially irreparable damage to public confidence.

The Banknote & Currency Conference was the first major industry event to take place in person since the start of the pandemic. The four day event, followed by the one-day inaugural Digital Currency Conference, welcomed more than 450 delegates from 180 organisations and 53 countries.

We have covered a number of initiatives by central banks and suppliers (individually or collectively through their associations) to reduce the environmental impact of cash, and will continue to do so.

After nearly 40 years at Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions, its Technical Director Johannes Schaede is retiring. Or, rather, semi-retiring – since from January 2022 he will be taking up a new supervisory position with Orell Füssli AG.

The digital world has been with us for over 20 years, and it has brought significant benefits, usually related to convenience, choice and cost. Despite that, there are many examples of physical products that are recovering lost ground and increasing sales.

COP 26 is taking place next week in the UK. The leaders of the world will be in attendance (most of them at least – the Russian and Chinese presidents aren’t turning up) along with around 30,000 others – from negotiators and journalists to lobbyists, NGOs, businesses and even protesters – from 200 or so countries.

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the global poor. It has also strongly impacted the lives of many women, and, as a consequence, children, the world over. For everyone thus affected by COVID-19, cash is often a lifeline, a means of support, of escape and maintaining personal freedom, of independence and of securing livelihoods.

On 1 November the latest UN Climate Change meeting, COP 26, starts in Glasgow in the UK. We can expect significant press interest and focus on the event in particular, and the environment in general.

Michael Lambert has recently retired as Director of Banknotes for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, where he was in charge all aspects of the issuance of US currency.