YOU MIGHT SOMETIMES feel that the money in your pocket isn’t worth much – but not many of us would actually take the step of burning it.

That’s what the central bank of Hungary is doing as the country struggles through a big freeze that has killed hundreds of people across eastern Europe.

Old notes which have become so worn they’re no longer usable are shredded, pulped and compressed into bricks, the International Business Times reports. These cash briquettes are then sent to charities to help heat their facilities.

Around 200billion Hungarian forints go up in flames this way each year – amounting to 40 or 50 tons of raw fuel which burns like brown coal, the Telegraph reports.

“One only needs to add a few bits of wood and the rooms are really warm,” the director of an autism centre which uses the briquettes told reporters.

This video shows the notes’ journey from wallet to fireplace:



(Video: Pigmine3)