HP breathes new life into used ink cartridges

 

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By Simon Aughton

Posted on 30 Jan 2008 at 15:14

HP has started manufacturing inkjet print cartridges from recycled plastics, including used printer cartridges.

HP claims to have already created more than 200 million cartridges from a quarter of million tonnes of recycled plastic, and says it intends to double that in 2008.

HP's recycling process allows the company to use multiple sources and grades of recycled plastics, from water bottles to old cartridges.

The company admits that new plastic may be added during the manufacturing process, but claims that the amount of recycled content in the new cartridges is never less than 70% and can be as high 100% of the total plastic used.

"HP's considerable investments in building a recycling infrastructure made this achievement possible, and this is just the beginning of what we hope to accomplish," says Michael Hoffmann, senior vice president, Supplies, Imaging and Printing Group, HP.