Epson, a leading manufacturer of printers, LCD projectors and other imaging products, is extending the box collection element of its Collect&Recycle initiative to include empty ink cartridges from its Large Format Printers (LFPs). The initiative starts in the second half of September and will cover all models in the range.
The Epson Collect&Recycle initiative has been running in Europe since February 2006 and has now become part of the company’s Environmental Vision 2050 sustainability programme. It operates a free box collection service across Europe and South Africa for empty cartridges from most of its business and professional printer range. Customers from larger companies who tend to use cartridges relatively quickly can, starting in mid September, register online (www.epson-europe.com/environment/collectandrecycle) to request a collection box. This is delivered within five working days, and when full, the customer requests a pick-up and a replacement collection box if required.
100% of the cartridges collected through the scheme are recycled: their plastics components are re-used in manufacturing and construction, while metal parts are smelted and re-used in other industrial applications.
Epson’s new Stylus Pro GS6000, a 64in large format printer with an eight-colour ink set, unveiled at the FESPA Sign and Display exhibition in Geneva in April, is the company’s first LFP to come supplied with a recycling box for its spent ink cartridges. Customers using other Epson LFP models will also be able to order recycling boxes.
Full boxes are combined with others and then transported to SIMS, a reputable international recycler in the Netherlands, where they are processed. SIMS uses the latest available technologies to ensure the highest possible recycling rates. It separates plastics from metals through a process that includes crushing and segregation by density.
Martin Johns, Epson’s Senior Product Manager Large Format Printers, said the company is keen to manage the environmental impact of its high European market share. “With leadership comes responsibility. A key element of Epson’s broad -ranging environmental commitments is to ensure a reduction in the number of ink cartridges that end up in landfill. We believe the best way to do that is to run a free, convenient and high-quality collection and recycling programme. I’m happy that we’ve now been able to extend this initiative to cartridges from our range of large format printers.”
