Canon Recycles Ink Jet Cartridges in Europe

After a one-year experimental period in the UK and Germany, Canon Europe announced its official launch an ink jet cartridge recycling program.

Canon printer users living in 15 European countries can now bring their spent or empty inkjet cartridges into Canon stores for recycling. This program is said to enable free recycling of Canon ink cartridges, resulting in the reuse of over 97% of a cartridge while the remaining 3% is used to generate energy from waste.

By now Canon has been running a successful Toner Cartridge Recycling Program in 20 countries, 16 of which are in Europe. Started in 1990, the program is said to have recycled more than 287,000 tons of toner cartridges and helped saved 185,000 tons of new raw materials and reduced 430,000 tons of CO2.

Canon expects this program will lessen the environmental impact of ink jet printing by reducing raw materials they use in manufacturing products. Thus, it can fulfill its philosophy of “living and working together for the common good”.