Hewlett-Packard recycles 70% of inkjet material with mail-in program

Hewlett-Packard recycles 70% of inkjet material with mail-in program

DETROIT (Feb. 22) — About 70 percent of the material in used inkjet cartridges returned to Hewlett-Packard Co. in the United States ends up being recycled into new products.
The waste generated by consumers — the used cartridges — is returned through a company-sponsored mail-in program that currently captures less than 1 percent of the total cartridges sold, however.

“Inkjet recycling is unique,” said Jay A. Celorie, product take-back and recycling manager for inkjet supplies at Hewlett-Packard. Celorie spoke about his company´s recycling efforts at last week´s Global Plastics Environmental Conference sponsored by the Society of Plastics Engineers and held in Detroit.

Cartridges are shredded and then undergo a four-phase separation process. A majority of the material recovered is polyethylene terephthalate, but used cartridges also contain ink, foam and metals.

Hewlett-Packard employs a variety of return programs depending on where consumers are located.

While the United States relies on the mail return, Japanese consumers return their used cartridges to retail stores. And Singapore´s residents can return their used cartridges to post offices