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Businesses know the value money counters have on reducing the time it takes to count cash in the back office at the end of the day. These machines also empower staff members to more accurately count the cash drawer and avoid mistakes related to counterfeit or damaged bills.

The typical paper bill changes hands many times in its lifetime. It's no surprise these denominations of cash eventually meet their end after years of wear and tear. Have you ever wondered what happens to those bills that eventually go out of circulation?

Food grows from cash

Great Big Story reported on the unlikely recycling process that happens to the millions of dollars of cash that become unusable each day due to rips, tears, holes, tape and graffiti that obstructs the standard design of the currency. In short, it becomes soil for locally grown produce in the greater New Orleans area.

According to the website, the Federal Reserve Bank of New Orleans is the organization responsible for removing unfit currency from U.S. circulation. The bank receives as much as $6 million in damaged cash every day and shreds it so it can no longer be used for transactions. Rather than simply tossing it out, the organization instead chose to partner with regional farmers to provide composting materials for vegetables and fruit.

"What we used to do is take all of these currency shreds and they would just wind up as waste going to a landfill," Dean Woitha, lead business analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New Orleans, explained to Great Big Story. "We finally figured out a way to take these shreds and ultimately recycling."

Damaged, false currency nothing a money counter can't find

Regardless of the Federal Reserve Bank of New Orleans' work recycling cash that's past its shelf life, damaged and counterfeit currency continues to be a major obstacle for small businesses looking to maximize their profits. Without the proper detection, false bills can quickly cause problems as employees count out the cash drawer at the end of the day.

With an advanced cash counter, staff members can avoid these issues and rest assured knowing they will always have an accurate tally of how much money they received on any given day. Machines that capture serial numbers via full-size images at a rate of 1,200 bills per minute add a level of capability and competitiveness on par with larger corporations with access to more resources.