Epson has become a top tier partner with environmental group Planet Ark, upgrading from a retail partner to a full partner with its Cartridges 4 Planet Ark.
According to Epson the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark is an innovative recycling program that provides a free, easy and environmentally-accredited way to recycle their used printer cartridges.
Epson ink cartridges are used across its production print solutions from wide format printers to label and garment printers.
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Craig Heckenberg, general manager – business division at Epson Australia says, “As cartridges are made up of a complex mix of plastics, metal and inks they represent a significant investment in resources. When they are disposed of into landfill these resources are lost. That is why Planet Ark joined with Close the Loop and the participating manufacturers to set up the innovative Cartridges 4 Planet Ark program. This program collects and returns cartridges for remanufacturing and recycling – therefore keeping them out of landfill. That is also why Epson believes in this programme and wants to be a key partner in it.”
Epson says the benefits of the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark programme are many and varied for customers and businesses alike. The successful programme is now in its 14th year of operation and this year is on track to surpass 36 million cartridges recycled. There are more than 4,000 Cartridges 4 Planet Ark cartridge collection boxes located across Australia.
Regardless of where the cartridges were purchased from they can be dropped off for recycling into any of the collection boxes located at participating retailers and employers. With a zero-waste-to-landfill guarantee the program also promotes and enables strengthened business sustainability and mitigates risk relating to hazardous e-waste.
Businesses are rewarded with resource recovery certificates and a potential reduction in waste costs.
The tie-up between Epson and Planet Ark is the latest example of how the printing industry is at the forefront of environmental protection, virtually all the major equipment developers have recycling programmes for both consumables and increasingly hardware. By most estimates more than 95 per cent of print is now recycled.
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