How tons of money that never circulated ended up becoming school furniture? Discover the School of the Future that transformed waste from the Casa da Moeda into technological classrooms, creative spaces, and a living laboratory of sustainability.

Written by Viviane Alves

Published on 08/06/2026 at 11:58

Updated on 08/06/2026 at 11:59

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Pioneering project in São Roque reuses discarded banknotes to equip a public school focused on technology, environmental education, and innovation

A public school located in the district of Maylasky, in São Roque (SP), is attracting attention for combining technological innovation, sustainability, and education in a single project. Inaugurated in 2025, the first School of the Future in the State of São Paulo received an investment of R$ 18 million and was developed to offer a teaching experience different from conventional models.

Capable of accommodating more than 900 students, the unit occupies approximately 8 thousand square meters. Robotics laboratories, maker environments, bilingual education, and activities focused on climate emergency are part of the pedagogical proposal implemented by the municipal administration.

The most curious element of the project, however, is present in practically all the school’s environments. A large part of the furniture used was produced from the recycling of banknote paper discarded by the Brazilian Mint, transforming industrial waste into permanent educational resources.

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Rejected banknotes by the Mint gain a new function

Printing errors, cutting issues, and color defects prevent certain banknotes from entering circulation. For decades, this material represented an industrial liability. Currently, a partnership between the Tran$forma Institute and the Brazilian Mint has created a sustainable alternative for this disposal.

Data released to the portal Um Só Planeta indicate that approximately 200 tons of banknote paper waste are generated annually. In 2025 alone, about 50 tons are being allocated to the educational sector through an operation that also involves Genchi and Equipa Group.

School desks, lockers, reading tables, auditorium seats, decorative objects, and even a ping-pong table were born from this same industrial reuse process.

Patricio Malvezzi, CEO of Instituto Tran$forma, highlighted to Um Só Planeta that the initiative demonstrates how innovation and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand in building solutions aimed at the future of public education.

Interior area of the School of the Future with a ping-pong table made from recycled materials, colorful educational mural, sustainable furniture, large windows, and a modern environment focused on the integration between technology, education, and student interaction. — The social area of the School of the Future combines leisure, learning, and sustainability, with interactive spaces designed to stimulate creativity, collaboration, and innovation among students.

Engineering transforms banknotes into high-strength material

Brazilian money is produced with a different composition from conventional papers. Cotton fibers, special inks, and security elements make the material more resistant and also more complex to recycle.

Specific industrial processes allow the material to be reused. Shredded fragments go through new grinding stages to adjust density and thickness.

Mixtures with special glues and synthetic resins, such as polyester, acrylic, polypropylene, and epoxy, create a new raw material. Molding under pressure and high temperatures gives rise to the final products.

Solid panels, molded components, and filaments for 3D printers can be produced from this compound. Fibers present in the banknotes act as internal structural reinforcement, increasing the resistance of the pieces to impact and continuous use.

Environmental education stops being theory and becomes part of the routine

Sustainability is not only present in the furniture. The pedagogical proposal was built to bring students closer to the concepts of environmental preservation and circular economy.

Content related to the climate emergency has been incorporated into the curriculum. School gardens and composting systems are also part of the unit’s planning.

Guto Issa, mayor of São Roque, informed that teams from the Education and Environment areas are working on the development of permanent activities aimed at environmental awareness.

Practical experiences will allow students to follow the cultivation of food and the reuse of organic waste produced by the school itself. Concepts of chemistry and biology start to be observed directly in the students’ daily lives.

Internal area of the School of the Future with tables made from recycled materials, colorful educational murals, modern social space, sustainable furniture, and an environment focused on innovative teaching and environmental education. — Collaborative space of the School of the Future brings together sustainable furniture, social areas, and environments inspired by creativity, reinforcing the integration between education, innovation, and environmental awareness.

Model could serve as a reference for other cities in São Paulo

Planting of native seedlings and partnerships aimed at protecting the regional fauna are also part of the activities planned for the coming years.

Evaluations on the durability of recycled materials and on the students’ adaptation to the new educational model will be carried out throughout the project.

Results obtained in São Roque could guide future similar initiatives in other cities in the State of São Paulo.

Technology, industrial recycling, and public education are brought together in the same environment. The project shows that waste that never reached the hands of the population can gain a second life and directly contribute to the education of future generations.

After all, how many other materials currently discarded could be transformed into solutions capable of changing the future of Brazilian schools?

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How tons of money that never circulated ended up becoming school furniture? Discover the School of the Future that transformed waste from the Casa da Moeda into technological classrooms, creative spaces, and a living laboratory of sustainability.

Pioneering project in São Roque reuses discarded banknotes to equip a public school focused on technology, environmental education, and innovation

Rejected banknotes by the Mint gain a new function

Engineering transforms banknotes into high-strength material

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How tons of money that never circulated ended up becoming school furniture? Discover the School of the Future that transformed waste from the Casa da Moeda into technological classrooms, creative spaces, and a living laboratory of sustainability.

Pioneering project in São Roque reuses discarded banknotes to equip a public school focused on technology, environmental education, and innovation

Rejected banknotes by the Mint gain a new function

Engineering transforms banknotes into high-strength material

The daily coffee can hide one of the most unexpected strategies to tackle the climate crisis, combat urban loneliness, and rebuild the human bonds that sustain communities in times of chaos.

Environmental education stops being theory and becomes part of the routine

Model could serve as a reference for other cities in São Paulo

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Workers were opening a modern road in Dover when they found, 6 meters below the asphalt, a 3,500-year-old boat made of stitched oak and plant fibers.

Dissatisfied with seeing people sleeping on the street, a man named Ryan Donais started building small mobile homes so that homeless people can escape the cold, each equipped with a bed, running water, electricity, and heating.

Consumers eat six times more chicken than in the 1960s, global meat supply quadruples in 60 years, and FAO report reveals the invisible cost on the plate: livestock could drive 80% of the increase in agricultural emissions over the next decade.

Using high-resolution satellite images, archaeologists rediscovered the Egyptian city of Imet, buried for centuries in the Nile Delta, revealing rare multi-story houses, granaries, and a sacred road linked to the cobra goddess Wadjet, from about 2,400 years ago.

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