Cashing Out.

It's enough to make you weep.

The Los Angeles branch of the Federal Reserve Bank reports that on average, $35.4 million in paper cash gets shredded there every day.

"These are typically notes that are soiled or worn thin because they've been through the (washing) machine too many times," said Cathy Paredes, a program director with the bank.

The L.A. branch, which serves as a depository bank for local banks, shreds about 60 percent of all the cash that's taken out of circulation in the 12th District of the Federal Reserve, which includes eight Western states. Other branches shred the rest.

In the basement of the downtown L.A. branch, huge machines count deposits delivered by local banks while weeding out counterfeit notes for inspection by the Secret Service and removing worn notes that are shredded right away.