Lexmark Aims to Recycle 25% of its Entire Toner Cartridge Line by 2016

Shauna Leis, Senior Manager for Global Supply Chain Operations at Lexmark, who is responsible for operations support across Lexmark’s printer cartridge collection program, revealed the OEM has set a goal to achieve a 25% average post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic content for their entire toner cartridge line by 2016, up from the current 10%. In Europe, Lexmark has 70% of the cartridges returned the US sees about a 65% return rate,  as reported by tonernews.com.

As revealed, Lexmark’s goal is to have a zero landfill impact by getting back the products they have sold, chopping them up, and reusing materials or remanufacturing them.  Reduction targets, recycling programs and reuse targets are all significant for realizing the goal.

At Lexmark, recycling is based on a cartridge collection program which provides free customer return methods.  Customers put the old cartridge in the packaging and shipping box that the new cartridge came in, with a shipping label included.

The staff at their recycling plant in Juarez, Mexico sorts the cartridges by manufacturer, use and customer.  Cartridges from other companies are swapped for their own returned cartridges.  Juarez processes approximately 30,000 empty toner returned cartridges per day. Which go through rigorous quality inspections with select components in the empty cartridges removed and reprocessed for reuse.

Also, Lexmark found a new use for the used toner collected through remanufacturing by shipping it to a company which uses it as a raw material for asphalt.

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Please contact Doris Huang, Head of News & Editorial, via Doris.Huang@iRecyclingTimes.com