4.5 Plastic Bills

If you say you’re paying with plastic, most people will think you mean a credit card. But to Australians, it might mean cash.  That’s because Australia is the world’s first country to create plastic bills. Of course, plastic money is more expensive to make than paper money. However, it’s worth making for several reasons. 

For one thing, plastic money is more durable. Paper money generally lasts for 18 to 24 months. But plastic money lasts four times longer. Besides being harder to tear, it’s also waterproof! Another benefit is that plastic money is hard to counterfeit. Each Australian bill has a transparent window, which is nearly impossible to copy. Another safety feature is an image of the country’s symbol that can only be seen when held up to the light. Perhaps most importantly, Australia’s plastic money is environmentally friendly. When it is no longer usable, it can be recycled. The government takes old bills, melts them down, and uses them to make plastic garbage cans. Soon other countries may follow Australia’s example and also start making plastic money.