HP Australia Achieves Significant Recycling Milestone

SYDNEY, Australia, May 17, 2017 /3BL Media/ – HP Australia has become the first organisation in the country to have recycled 10 million print cartridges via its partnership with Cartridges for Planet Ark.

Cartridges for Planet Ark’ (C4PA) is an innovative recycling program that provides Australians with a free, easy-to-use and environmentally-accredited way to recycle their printer cartridges with a zero waste to landfill commitment. HP is a founding member of C4PA, which was created in 2003.

“Planet Ark aims to make recycling as easy as possible for consumers and businesses, which is why we work hard to ensure that all Australians are in easy reach of a collection point,” said Brad Grey, Head of Campaigns, Planet Ark. “‘Cartridges for Planet Ark’ collection boxes can be found in all Officeworks and JB HiFi stores, as well as participating Australia Post outlets. Workplaces can also be collection points. Every cartridge dropped into a C4PA box is processed with a zero waste to landfill guarantee, which is a great result for the environment.”

HP and C4PA have worked with Close the Loop since 2003 to facilitate the collection, recycling, and resource recovery operations.

“HP represents approximately 55 percent of the total cartridges returned since the program’s inception, which is a significant achievement,” said Peter Tamblyn, Close the Loop Sales & Marketing Manager, Asia Pacific. “HP’s commitment to sustainable recycling of waste and unused materials is helping ensure the environmental impact of consumption is significantly reduced.”

The recycled cartridge materials are turned into various products, such as pens, rulers, picnic tables, even asphalt. TonerPave® is a 23% lower carbon asphalt that utilises the waste and residual toner from cartridges, and is mixed with other waste materials such as used engine oil and ground tyre rubber to produce an asphalt additive, Modified Toner Polymer (MTP). The addition of MTP in asphalt significantly reduces energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and makes a better performing road than using traditional methods.

The Circular Economy

Given the hardware used in the technology industry is predominantly comprised of intricate fragments and hard plastics, HP is reinventing the way its products are designed, manufactured, used, and recovered as its business model and operations shift toward a materials- and energy-efficient ‘circular economy’. This innovative approach is regenerative by intention, following a ‘make, use, return’ model, versus the traditional consumption model of ‘take, make, dispose’.

HP works with many partners worldwide to recycle and recover used products to feed into the production of products, including print cartridges. In some regions, returned HP cartridges go through a ‘closed-loop’ recycling process where their plastics are combined with other plastics, such as used water bottles, to create plastic for new HP Original print cartridges with no compromise on quality and print performance. Today, 80 percent of Original HP ink cartridges and 100 percent of Original HP toner cartridges are made with recycled content.

“Embracing the circular economy demonstrates HP’s commitment to giving back to the planet, where the plastics used in a number of HP products are given a perpetual lifecycle and don’t end up in landfill,” said Ben Vivoda, Director, Printing Systems, HP South Pacific. “To create real impact you need scale and our partnerships with both Cartridges for Planet Ark and Close the Loop have allowed HP and our customers to genuinely address sustainability issues in the industry.”

For more information on how easy it is to recycle your printer cartridges and to find a suitable collection or pick up service, visit http://recyclingnearyou.com.au/cartridges/. 

To learn about HP’s sustainability initiatives and approach, go to hp.com/sustainability. 

About HP
HP Inc. creates technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere. Through
our portfolio of printers, PCs, mobile devices, solutions, and services, we engineer experiences
that amaze. More information about HP Inc. is available at http://www.hp.com.

Contacts:

Stephanie Aye, HP South Pacific
stephanie.aye@hp.com
+61 408 387 333
www.hp.com/go/newsroom

Lorna Jerez, Edelman for HP
lorna.jerez@edelman.com  
+61 412 520 349