SUSTAINABLE TONER
CONTINUED
printing 10,000 pages before needing to be replaced, which is almost three times the volume of competitor models in its class. This means less shipping and less plastic waste from spent cartridges. The toner is also free from titanium dioxide. “Our toner is also ethically produced in a factory owned by the Kyocera Group, a member of the UN Global Compact. Our production facilities have strict ESG goals and prioritise environmental conservation, workplace safety and coexistence with local communities.” Toner recycling Toner cartridge recycling schemes are also growing in popularity too to save resources and lower carbon emissions. “Recycling is a very hot issue – for years, there has been a prevalence of recycling programmes which have merely exported product that will eventually go to landfill in another country,” notes Peter. “We recently introduced a programme which keeps the product breakdown and recycling within the UK, seeing raw components extracted to be re-distributed to other manufacturing sectors in the UK, such as making road bollards utilising discarded toner cartridges.” Steve agrees that toner cartridge recycling schemes are popular. “Especially when these schemes are offered to customers free of charge!” he adds “We’ve seen great success with our Toner Take-Back service, which enables Kyocera customers to recycle used cartridges through a free, zero-waste-to-landfill collection service,
where plastics and polymers are turned into recyclate for reuse in the manufacturing of new products – such as furniture for children’s playgrounds. Our toner cassettes and product
packaging are also 100% recyclable. “To make the scheme even more
sustainable, we moved the programme from Germany to the UK in September last year, reducing carbon emissions associated with shipping empties abroad and saving an estimated 125 gallons of diesel. Crucially, we’ve seen a 47% jump in toner units being recycled by our customers in the last year, which underlines the scheme’s popularity. “We make the process as easy as possible for customers, which is key in building and maintaining the popularity of the programme.” Remanufacturing Meanwhile Brother has an initiative where it remanufactures toner cartridges. The company first started doing this 20 years ago and recently became the first print company to receive the Blue Angel certification for one of its remanufactured toner cartridges, according to Craig McCubbin, managing director at Brother Industries UK. This was awarded after auditors confirmed that more than 75% of its weight came from reused parts. “Customers can send used cartridges back to us at our site in Ruabon, North Wales, where working parts will be cleaned and reused to create consumables that look and perform just like new products,” he says. “There is no difference in the performance and quality of our remanufactured
Craig McCubbin managing director Brother Industries UK
brother.co.uk
“
We know resellers are always looking for ways to support their customers’ sustainability goals and our remanufacturing operations are another solution for them to offer businesses.
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