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Deutsche Kartuschen Wiederaufbereitungs-Unternehmen

DKWU

Promote the re-use of printer cartridges to achieve a true circular economy.

Lobbying Activity

Response to A new Circular Economy Action Plan

8 Jan 2020

Single use plastic consumables which are designed with a short life cycle must be a thing of the past. This is true for example for single use plastic razors, single use plastic straws and single use plastic printer cartridges. But unlike plastic razors and straws, chipped cartridges are electronic devices according to WEEE. They can be re-used multiple times if properly repaired. Considering the use of materials repair/remanufacturing are the most preferable alternatives because the geometrical form of the product is retained and its associated economic value is preserved. It can be used for the same purpose it was originally designed for again and again. By remanufacturing a printer cartridge at least twice, the environmental impact can be reduced up to 61% compared to a newly manufactured cartridge because of the material recirculation. According to a recent study on the re-use ability of printer cartridges in accordance with the implementation of Article 4 of the WEEE directive commissioned by the European Commission it was found that 75-80% of all printer cartridges could be re-used. If you combine the quantitative data from that study with the average weight of empty laser and IJ cartridges the size of the issue shows its true magnitude. We are looking at around 70.000 metric tons of cartridge waste in the EU per year! That means that between 52.500 and 56.000 metric tons per year could be re-used whereas currently only a fraction of them are because of rouge single use and clone cartridges from the Far East entering the waste stream, OEM taking re-useable cartridges from the market and because of little awareness of the cartridge users of the fact that they bought a single-use short-life cycle plastic product which can be turned into a multi-use plastic product by an established professional repair/remanufacturing industry. A re-use awareness and incentive campaign in alignment with the waste hierarchy outlined in Article 4 of Directive 2008/98/EC should be an integral part of any activities towards a circular economy. In addition the definition of waste in transporting goods suitable for re-use must be reconsidered in order to allow for an easier transportation of used products for the preparation for re-use e.g. by means of remanufacturing/repair or by reprocessing of used plastics.
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Meeting with Grzegorz Radziejewski (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen) and European Toner Inkjet Remanufacturers' Association

4 Jul 2018 · Presentation of the toner cartridge remanufacturers industry/market conditions

Meeting with Helena Braun (Cabinet of First Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

4 Jul 2018 · Circular Economy and Printer Cartridges

Response to Towards an EU Product Policy Framework contributing to the Circular Economy

8 May 2018

Considering the use of materials remanufacturing is one of the most preferable alternatives because the geometrical form of the product is retained and its associated economic value is preserved. The DKWU Networks main concern in regard to remanufacturing are imaging devices (Printers, Multi Functional Printers (MFPs), Copiers and Fax machines) as well as their consumables (cartridges, drum units, etc.). A study conducted by Mattias Lindahl, Erik Sundin and Johan Östlin from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Linköping University, Sweden revealed, that the environmental impact can be reduced up to 61% if a cartridge is remanufactured at least twice, rather than newly manufactured, because of the material recirculation1. Furthermore, a very recent study that was conducted on behalf of the DG Environment form the EU Commission revealed that 75-80% of all printer cartridges could be re-used. But unfortunately, only less than 20% are actually being re-used. The rest ends up in landfill, energy recovery (incineration) and raw material recycling. It should be made clear in the EU Product Policy Framework, that re-use and remanufacturing are to be always preferred over raw material recycling whenever possible. 1 Mattias Lindahl, Erik Sundin and Johan Östlin: “Environmental Issues within the Remanufacturing Industry” in PROCEEDINGS OF LCE2006 from the 13th CIRP INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LIFE CYCLE ENGINEERING, pages 447-452, Belgium, 2006 (see enclosed).
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