HP begins recycling plastic in ink cartridges
Written by admin on February 1st, 2008 in gadgets.
HP created a new process that makes the manufacturing of inkjet cartridges a much greener process. The engineering breakthrough allows for plastics to be taken from a range of sources and different grades, including drinks bottles, CD cases, and used inkjet cartridges, and then reused in the manufacture of brand new cartridges.
Although the announcement has only been made in the last few days, HP claims to have already manufactured over 200 million new cartridges using the recycled plastics. That equates to over 5 million pounds of plastic last year not going into landfill sites. HP has also set its target at 10 million pounds of plastic reuse in 2008.
The amount of recycled plastic making its way into new cartridges varies between 70-100%. Besides lower grade plastics from items such as drink bottles, HP also recycles its own ink cartridges through the Planet Partners program. This program not only reuses the plastic from the cartridges, but also the metal they contain.
Speaking of the recycling system, Michael Hoffman, senior vice president of the HP Supplies, Imaging, and Printing Group, said:
By developing the technology to use recycled plastics in Original HP inkjet print cartridges, we have the opportunity to reduce the environmental impact HP products have on the planet … HP’s considerable investments in building a recycling infrastructure made this achievement possible, and this is just the beginning of what we hope to accomplish.
Read more at CNET and the HP press release.
Matthew’s Opinion
Anything HP can do to make its cartridges more environmentally-friendly is good news. Plastic is one of the least recycled materials, I believe, with collections in the U.K. at least only just getting going and then only in limited form.
HP should also use this information in its marketing and on the packaging of its products. “Genuine” inkjet cartridges can cost significantly more than third-party alternatives, and with more of us becoming conscious of our impact on the environment, information like this may make spending the extra money easier to stomach.
I hope HP shares this manufacturing process with its rivals as well, although I am dubious of that happening. If all the printer companies were recycling million of pounds of plastic every year, the impact on landfills would surely be seen.
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