BCMY’s Zero Waste Recycling service responsibly refills or recycles used ink and toner printer cartridges, preventing resources from being wasted.

The core principle of BCMY’s Zero Waste Recycling service is in their name. This service reuses and recycles used ink and toner cartridges and does not send any waste to landfill or incinerators. They accept cartridges of all models, and aim to fix and refill those that can be reused. Of those that cannot be refilled, which accounts for around 45% of cartridges received, they are broken down into their separate parts, recycled, and remarketed for alternative uses. For instance, steel and plastic is used for producing car parts, aluminium for cans, and residual ink and toner for road surfacing and colouring products.

BCMY provides Zero Waste Recycling collection boxes and wheelie bins for companies to responsibly dispose of their cartridges, and also accepts online requests to collect used cartridges, which are recorded upon receipt. Zero Waste Recycling can then provide firms with the necessary certificates for firms who are legally obliged to responsibly manage their waste. The firm currently refills or recycles around four million units each year.

At present, over 360 million ink and toner cartridges are used each year in Europe, and around 75% of these are landfilled or incinerated. These cartridges are made from plastic, so can take up to 1000 years to decompose if landfilled.