Office supplies retailer claims to have recycled 350 million ink and toner cartridges since 2005.
Environmental Leader reports that Staples has recycled 350 million cartridges over the last eight years, averaging more than 60 million cartridges per year in the past three years through the company’s recycling programme.
According to Staples, 182 million pounds of plastics and metals have been recycled through the programme, which rewards customers with $2 (€1.50) in Staples Rewards for each cartridge they send for recycling as long as they are limited to 10 cartridges per month. The rewards can be redeemed against any Staples product both online and in-store.
Claiming to be the first US retailer to reward its customers for recycling cartridges and the largest retail recycler of ink and toner in North America, Staples is one of three major electronics retailers in the country making an effort to help customers to recycle used electronic products, according to a report by the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, with Best Buy and Office Depot also said to be encouraging electronics recycling.
Other retailers, including Walmart, Amazon and Costco, were said by the Coalition to be “doing very little” to help recycle the electronics they sell.
Last year The Recycler reported on the Staples’ B2B division, Staples Advantage Canada, and its plan to sell remanufactured toner in partnership with Evergreen as well as the company working with Xerox to develop a “Never Out Toner Savings Plan” allowing customers to pay up-front for their toner based on their expected monthly print volume as long as they are a member of Staples’ customer loyalty programme.