Office Depot recycled almost 1.5 million pounds of old tech equipment through its service for consumers, the company said Wednesday.That sounds like a lot. It makes you realize how quickly all those landfills must be filling up since that figure represents only the junk from people who 1) actually bother to recycle, and 2) chose to go with Office Depot’s recycling program.For a comparison, I decided to check how other company-sponsored recycling programs are doing. Unfortunately, as sustainability expert Kevin Wilhelm told CNET, there is yet to be a standard way for companies to calculate such statistics. What’s included in recycling statistics varies from company to company, but the data I dug up offers a rough idea of what’s going on in this arena.Staples, an Office Depot competitor, began offering an in-store recycling service in May 2007. It charges $10 per large item regardless of where you originally bought it; recycles small items like keyboards, mice, and speakers for free; and offers $3 in Staples rewards for Hewlett-Packard, Lexmark or Dell brand printer cartridges.By the end of the 2007, Staples had recycled 2 million pounds of tech junk, including almost 24 million printer cartridges in the U.S., according to the company’s 2007 sustainability report.
What about the computer manufacturers themselves?
Hewlett-Packard has had a recycling program since 1987 and in January 2009 launched a new program that offers money for old tech equipment. As of June 2007, the company had recycled more than 1 billion pounds of electronics and printer cartridges and expanded to include consumer programs in 50 countries. HP’s new goal is to reach 2 billion pounds by the end of 2010.Unlike Office Depot, which asks customers for pay $5, $10, or $15 for a box they can fill with everything from printers to digital cameras, HP offers credit that can be put toward the purchase of an HP product.
Apple has consumer recycling programs in 95 percent of the countries where it sells its computers. In 2007, it collected about “21 million pounds of e-waste,” according to the company’s 2008 environmental report.
Dell offers consumer recycling programs worldwide. In the U.S., it’s free. Between 2006 and 2008, Dell recycled about 255 million pounds of its own products. Its goal is to recover about 275 million pounds by the end of 2009, according to its 2008 Global Corporate Responsibility Report.
Big Blue seems to have recycled the most, or at least calculated the most.
Between 1995 (when it began keeping track) and the end of 2007, IBM “collected and recovered (resold, refurbished, or recycled)” more than 1.5 billion pounds of product and product waste worldwide, according to the company’s latest corporate sustainability report.
In the U.S., IBM offers consumer recycling programs on a state-by-state basis.
While recycling tech equipment is definitely a positive way to do your part for the environment, it’s also important to keep your computer information secure. Always remember to properly wipe computers clean of your personal information before giving away or recycling them. Coincidentally, CNET’s Seth Rosenblatt did a piece on wiping hard drives clean earlier this week.
HP has developed the ability to use recycled plastics in the production of new HP inkjet print cartridges, according to this report. More than 200 million cartridges have been manufactured using the process thus far. HP used more than 5 million pounds of recycled plastic in its inkjet cartridges last year, and the company plans to use twice as much in 2008. The amount of recycled content in the new printer cartridges varies between 70 to 100 percent of the total plastic used.HP’s recycling process uses a range of plastic products, from water bottles to HP inkjet cartridges. Since first piloting the process, HP claims to have used enough recycled plastic to fill more than 200 tractor trailers.
Last spring, Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) introduced its ColorQube™ 9200 Series multifunction printer (MFP) with a straightforward proposition – affordable color that lowers the environmental impact of office printing. One year later, organizations around the world say it’s true – solid ink technology is making a positive impact on business and the environment.
“The technology behind the ColorQube 9200 Series, along with Xerox’s marketing of the solution, has been very well-received in the marketplace,” said Angele Boyd, GVP/GM, Imaging/Output/Document Solutions, IDC. “The MFP is answering a definite need for businesses worldwide and is a testimony to the benefits of Xerox’s solid ink technology.”
Customers using the ColorQube 9200 Series to cut costs and meet their sustainability goals include:
CityCenter (U.S.), an urban destination of hotels and residences, spas, dining and shopping on the Las Vegas Strip, recently installed 37 ColorQube 9200 MFPs to help meet sustainability goals. The MFPs generate 90 percent less supplies waste, 9 percent less lifecycle energy and 10 percent fewer greenhouse gases than a comparable laser-based product and are located in every property in the development, including the flagship ARIA Resort&Casino.
CityCenter has achieved six LEED® gold certifications by the U.S. Green Building Council. The solid ink MFPs are just one part of its commitment to using sustainable elements and practices to create a healthier environment at CityCenter.
The ColorQube 9200 Series is helping businesses in Europe reduce their color printing costs, including Capespan (U.K.), a leading fresh produce company that installed two ColorQube 9200 MFPs at its headquarters earlier this year. The MFPs cut the cost of color pages by up to 62 percent compared to traditional color lasers, without compromising print quality, saving the company thousands of dollars.
“When looking for new office printing equipment, our objective was to consolidate the total number of printers, while retaining productivity levels,” said Jeremy Sykes, network manager, Capespan. “The ColorQube 9200s have accomplished this goal with a lower cost of ownership and impressive reliability.”
Corus Entertainment Inc. (Canada), one of Canada’s largest and most-successful media and entertainment companies, has entered into a five-year partnership with Xerox Global Services to run its Corus Print Centre. The deal enabled Corus to replace 240 older print devices with 43 new Xerox machines, including 30 ColorQube 9202 MFPs.
The MFPs will help Corus reduce costs, increase staff productivity and build on the sustainability initiatives associated with the company’s new LEED gold-certified headquarters.
The ColorQube 9200 Series will be on display at IPEX 2010, May 18-25 in Birmingham, U.K. Xerox’s booth is located in Hall 7.
On Feb. 1, Staples, Inc. will become the first national retailer to offer a comprehensive ink and toner recycling program that rewards customers for recycling any brand or type of cartridge, regardless of manufacturer. As a part of their EcoEasy suite of green initiatives, Staples now provides an opportunity for customers to earn $3 back in Staples Rewards on any brand or type of ink or toner, just for choosing to recycle them instead of throwing them away.
Staples now accepts all types of ink cartridges for recycling. – cdrecycling.co.uk
“The emergence of user-friendly ink and toner recycling programs like the one Staples is offering is an important step in helping Americans make more environmentally-friendly choices in their daily lives by keeping valuable products and materials out of the waste stream,” said Matt Hale, drector of the Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery for the U.S. EPA.
In 2008, the company recycled more than 22 million ink and toner cartridges. The company expects to recycle more than 30 million cartridges in 2009 and become the world’s largest ink and toner recycler with its current initiatives.
According to Staples, 70 percent of cartridges used worldwide are thrown away, with almost eight cartridges tossed in the trash per second in the U.S.
Customers can recycle up to 10 cartridges per calendar month, and Rewards are sent on a monthly basis. The money can be used on any Staples purchase in store, online or over the phone.
In 2008, the company also recycled approximately four million pounds of electronic waste and opened its first two stores registered with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.
I admit it: I look for bargains. I’ve tried the generic brands in the supermarket. I once trusted a friend’s recommendation that retread tires were just as good as the original brand name tires that came with a new car. That budget buy resulted in a blowout in the middle of the Mohave Desert with near-disastrous results. And I’ve haven’t made a trade-off like that since. I learned the hard way that what may seem like a bargain is often no bargain at all — especially when it fails to deliver as promised. Or doesn’t last as long as the original. Or, frankly, it just isn’t as good. That’s aggravating, I know. We’ve heard from customers who thought they found a good deal with a cheap ink alternative, but who ended up disappointed. Instead of saving money, these folks have to spend more to replace the inks that caused smudges, leaks and failures. If you’ve had a blowout with bargain ink, HP wants you to know that you are not alone. There is a safe haven from smudges, leaks and failures. It’s called HP Ink Amnesty.
Here’s the scoop:
* Between April 23 and May 31, 2010, customers can share stories and photos of their bargain ink letdowns and why they switch back to HP at www.hp.com/go/inkamnesty
* In return, HP will grant swift Amnesty with a coupon for 20 percent off the purchase of Original HP Ink at the HP Home and Home Office Store online — with free shipping and next business day delivery included.
Want to know more about why customers don’t have to choose between price and quality with Original HP Ink? Read on:
* Original HP Ink yields up to 65 percent more pages than bargain ink.
* Studies have shown one in three bargain inks fail during use or right out of the box. Only Original HP Ink cartridges worked 100 percent of the time, every time, with zero failures.
* HP gives users more for their money. The average HP printer owner only spends about $6 a month on ink. But the hidden costs of using cheap ink can add up quickly. Reprinting pages because of poor quality or unreliable performance is a waste of our customers’ time and money.
* HP offers a variety of cartridges to help customers best match their printing volumes and their budgets, including Original HP Ink Cartridges that start as low as $9.99.
* There’s no way on Earth your HP cartridge will end up in a landfill when you use HP’s free Cartridge Recycling Service through our Planet Partners program.3
If you want to learn even more about the brilliance, permanence, and value of Original HP Ink, please visit www.hp.com/go/inkamnesty or www.hp.com