December 10, 2003—HP is making it easier for customers to recycle HP printing supplies with an expanded HP Planet Partners return and recycling program for HP inkjet print cartridges. Starting in December 2003, HP customers in the US will find postage-paid recycling envelopes in their new HP 56 and 57 inkjet print cartridge boxes. During this expanded service trial, business customers and consumers can help protect the environment by mailing their empty HP inkjet cartridges to HP’s state-of-the art recycling operations. The cartridges are then processed into recycled raw materials for use in new consumer products. Since Planet Partners started in 1991, more than 64 million HP inkjet and LaserJet print cartridges have reportedly been recycled. The program is now available in more than 30 countries in Asia, Europe, and North America. The service expands on existing returns options, including in-box postage-paid return labels for most HP LaserJet cartridges. Customers can also order online postage-paid shipping materials for bulk and individual returns of HP inkjet and LaserJet cartridges at HP / Product Recycling.
Combining environmental stewardship and innovation, HP is now seeking to close the loop on the product lifecycle by qualifying recycled HP inkjet print cartridge plastics for use in HP’s own materials. In a pilot project, HP has developed an HP Scanjet scanner component made from 25% recycled inkjet cartridge plastic and 75% recycled plastic bottles, while meeting all part and product specifications and requirements. HP says it will continue to investigate opportunities for using recycled plastics to deliver high-quality, reliable, and environmentally sound products.
