Empty ink and toner cartridges can be collected in as many as 500 places across Poland, including institutions, bookstores and electronic stores. Now EMPIK, Poland’s largest newsagent chain, has become a partner within the programme. In all of its branches, customers are given special envelopes for ink cartridges. All they must do is put a cartridge inside, seal the envelope and post it free of charge.
The funds raised by collecting cartridges go to the UNICEF account and are used to support child aid programmes run by the organization in the developing regions of the world.
Apart from the priority goal being aid for the Third World, another aim is to raise ecological awareness among Poles, educate them and instil certain attitudes and habits – explains Marcin Adamski, CEO at Eco Service. All cartridges collected in this way are recycled or utilized, which means they no longer pose a hazard to the environment and it cuts down on usage of its resources. “We feel that we are responsible for the pro-ecological education of Poles, all the more so because we represent an industry for which the awareness of all aspects of recycling is immensely important” adds Marcin Adamski.