The BSP Employees Association Inc. (BSPEAI) donated armchairs made from recycled Philippine polymer banknotes considered unfit for circulation as part of its sustainability and community development initiatives.

In a statement Friday, the central bank said close to a hundred armchairs were donated to Doña Pilar L. Marfori Elementary School in Davao City on July 22.

BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan and BSP Mindanao Regional Office Officer-in-Charge Jason Capocao, together with BSPEAI President Brent Lucero and Director Eloisa Glindro of the Currency Policy and Integrity Department, led the ceremonial turnover.

The armchairs were produced under the Banknote-to-Armchair Project, an initiative that transforms unfit polymer banknotes and manufacturing byproducts into durable classroom armchairs through BSPEAI’s partnership with Envirotech Waste Recycling Inc., a private recycling company.

Tangonan said polymer banknotes follow a planned lifecycle from circulation to recycling.

“End-of-life management is built into their design,” he said.

Lucero, meanwhile, said the beneficiary school was selected based on an assessment of needs and priorities on the ground.

The BSP said polymer banknotes are smarter, cleaner and stronger than paper banknotes.

From 2022 to May 2026, only 0.02 percent of the 1000-peso polymer banknotes issued to banks by the BSP were returned as worn-out or damaged banknotes.

In comparison, 54.75 percent of 1000-piso paper banknotes issued during the same period were returned to the BSP as worn-out and damaged banknotes.

BSP said that to date, it has not received lower denomination unfit polymer banknotes since they were first issued by the BSP in December 2024. (PNA)