The U.S. loses roughly $900M/year on penny production and handling. The cost to produce a penny is 1.7¢. This is mostly related to the high cost of zinc which makes up over 97% of the penny.
The solution seems simple to me. If everyone cashed in the pennies they have sitting in jars and piggy banks, we could reduce the cost to the national budget by reducing the need for additional production, and the cost to the environment by reducing the amount of required mining.
Let's start a grass roots effort. So I'm calling on my readers to redeem their pennies! You don't even have to roll them. Bring them to the grocery store and dump them in a Coinstar machine! Sure there's a redemption fee, but in the grand scheme of things, it's nothing when applied to pennies.
And tell your friends and blog readers, too. Maybe we can make a difference in a simple way.
I'll be cashing in my nickels and dimes, too!
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Monday, May 05, 2008
Pennies, Pennies Everywhere
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5 comments:
I wish they'd just do away with the blasted things--they're a waste of pocket space. But that's a good idea--turn 'em in and let Coinstar deal with them.
(Though I've always fantasized about pulling a little red wagon-load of pennies to the assessor's office to pay my taxes in person!)
And, as worthless as they may be, I STILL pick up every one I see on the street.
--Alex
Just do away with them. Do we really need to count things to the cent-- especially in THIS economy? Just round the fucking totals to a nickel or dime- because a penny is about worthless.
Yes, but then how the heck would Wal Mart know how to make up the bizarre pricing they have?? And the gas companies couldn't round up that 10th of a percent that they phantom onto every gallon. Chaos, I tell you, total chaos..
I save all mine in a huge empty bottle and the bank is quite happy to exchange them. I just have to change them more often as they break my arms carrying them all to the bank.
I have a change jar I put all my coins into at the end of the day and I don't redeem the coins until December. Last year I cashed in around $400.
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