Banknotes await a quality check at the logistics centre of the National Bank of Hungary in Budapest February 7, 2012. Once they are taken out of circulation, the bank notes are recycled for fuel, and a few charities each year get 20-30 tonnes of paper bricks each. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh

Annually,Hungary recycles about $1 billion worth of old forints (currency of Hungary), and converts the worn out currency into bricks. After which, the bricks are distributed to different charitable organizations . The bricks are used as a heating fuel. This unique government program covers up to a third of the expenses in heating.

Banknotes that are not acceptable anymore are being collected and sent to the of the National Bank of Hungary in Budapest for the converting process.

According to Reuters,Hungary is the only country to recycle its worn out cash for heating fuel supplies each year.The bricks are sent to charities, covering some of their heating fuel costs.

Banknotes undergo a quality check at the logistics centre of the National Bank of Hungary in Budapest February 7, 2012. Once they are taken out of circulation, the bank notes are recycled for fuel, and a few charities each year get 20-30 tons of paper bricks each. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh
Banknotes are burned as heating at the Foundation to Help Autism in Miskolc, eastern Hungary February 7, 2012. Hungary is the only country to recycle its worn cash for fuel each year, a total of some $1 billion worth of forints. The bricks are then sent to a few charities, covering up to a third of their annual heating fuel supplies. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh
Banknotes shredded and compressed into heating fuel are distributed at the Foundation to Help Autism in Miskolc, eastern Hungary February 7, 2012. Hungary is the only country to recycle its worn cash for fuel each year, a total of some $1 billion worth of forints. The bricks are then sent to a few charities, covering up to a third of their annual heating fuel supplies. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh