Ecology and Production

As known a laser printer cartridge package is made from plastic. This substance practically is not utilizable. Plastic is decay-resistant and is capable of preserving for hundred years. To produce a cartridge it is required to use 2-3 liters of oil and the cartridge thrown on the scrap heap – 0.5- 2 kg of decay-resistant waste.   Cartridge photoreceptors are made of non-ferrous metals and are fit to be utilized as non-ferrous scrap metal. Toner residues in cartridge bunkers are gathered and processed at undertakings. This also refers to the of late spread electronic boards. Thus, a cartridge became the product falling under 100% processing.

Pursuant to the statistic data received from industrial sources, each year more than 300 million cartridges from laser printers and multifunctional devices stop existing on scrap heaps of our planet. Each second only in the United States there are utilized about eight empty cartridges. At present we are not capable of liquidating in full such a flow of waste; however we are able to reduce it at least in part. Each used cartridge allows preventing from throwing on average 457.2 g of plastic and 1.79 liters of oil on the scrap heap!

These impressing factors make everyone of us thinking about and once more confirming it is necessary to use reasonable resources available to us:

  • Pursuant to Lyra Research date, in 2002 about 1 billion of laser and ink jet cartridges were sold worldwide.
  • Producing one new laser cartridge it is used more than 3.4 liters of petrol.
  • More than 90% of all cartridges thrown on the scrap heap make up laser printers cartridges.
  • A laser cartridge thrown on the scrap heap is decayed during 450 years.
  • Annually more than 100 million of used cartridges are thrown on the scrap heap in Europe.
 

Therefore, returning your used cartridge you make contribution in the environment protection.

For our part we also support the programme of processing used cartridges. For detailed information visit the web-site: www.empties.lv .