An article discusses Australia’s role in the “Cartridges 4 Planet Ark Programme”.
Technology Decisions reported that 13,500 printer cartridges are recycled every working day and that this is primarily to do with being part of the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark programme.
Ryan Collins, Recycling Programmes Manager, Planet Ark, stated: “The success of Cartridges 4 Planet Ark is a direct result of the commitment demonstrated by our programme partners. With their participation the programme has been able to build an extensive collection and processing infrastructure that makes it easy for households and workplaces to recycle their cartridges, which is clearly reflected in the previous year’s results.”
OEMs that are taking part in this programme are Brother, Canon, Epson, HP Inc, Konica Minolta and Kyocera all of which have helped to divert 34 million cartridges from landfill in Australia which Collins said: “It doesn’t make good business sense to send useful and valuable materials to landfill when they can be salvaged and directed back into the economy. We’re particularly proud of the fact that the programme has consistently achieved zero waste to landfill every year.”
Disposed of cartridges can take from 450 to 1000 years to decompose in landfills and with a throw away society there is an increase of e-waste however Australians are very much in favour of “responsible waste management and recycling” with one study showing that 82 percent of those taking part would still do so even if it was more difficult.
Used cartridges are returned to the manufacturers for remanufacturing or dismantled and recycled and Close the Loop is a recovery partner in the recycling process. Many materials can be retrieved from cartridges such as aluminium, steel and several types of plastic which can be used in making pens, rulers, park benches and fencing and can be added to asphalt to make roads.
Other products made from recycled cartridges have a practical use like Tonerseal which is a “spray seal binder for roads” made from 20 percent “recycled waste toner” and TonerPave which has been used to resurface 900 kilometres of roads in Australia.