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Sustainability is our mission

Want to do everything you can to reduce the environmental impact of the products you sell? Are you looking for a way to make a significant contribution to reaching large-scale sustainability goals?

Collecting inkjet cartridges is a huge opportunity for making a real difference. A large number of consumers have already been purchasing refilled ink cartridges for years. But what actually happens to all those other empty cartridges? Do they simply end up in the waste bin as soon as they are empty? Recoll Europe helps you and your customers to easily collect empty inkjet cartridges.

We give each inkjet cartridge a second life, while also guaranteeing top quality. And after that, comes a third, fourth or fifth life.

RECOLL - circular economy of inkjet cartridges

Protect resources

Original print cartridge manufacturers want their customers to buy new cartridges every time. This has been the basis of their sales model since the 1980s. It’s now clear that natural resources on our planet are finite. We have to do everything we can to protect our environment for future generations.

There’s an urgent need to reduce the climate impact of ink cartridges. Recoll is working on that. We do this throughout the product life cycle: from collecting to sorting and from refilling to product development. At Recoll, we want to limit the use of valuable raw materials by collecting and refilling cartridges.

The power of circularity

It’s important to make more sustainable choices, with greater emphasis on the power of circularity. There are plenty of opportunities. For example, we see that refilled cartridges only represent a small part of the total market share: less than 15%! In other words, more than half of all cartridges are never reused and most likely end up in the landfill after one use. It’s time to change that.

Minimize ecological footprint with cartridges without CO2 emissions

Recoll extends the life of ink cartridges. And now we want to do even more for the climate. Our logistics and production processes inevitably leave a mark on our CO2 emissions. That’s why we are constantly looking for ways to limit the resulting climate damage. We would be glad to show you how we approach this.

Environmentally conscious business practices

In Europe, for example, we have decided to work with a central distribution center. This way we limit the number of transport shipments. Another example is the rinse water that we use to clean collected cartridges. Before this water leaves the factory, an extensive after-treatment takes place.

Sustainable partners

In addition to our efforts to reduce our impact on the environment ourselves, we also work closely with sustainable partners. For example, our partnership with Fair Climate Fund, part of Cordaid, gives us a fair way to offset CO2 emissions released during the remanufacturing and logistics of our cartridges. This is achieved through Fairtrade® Gold Standard® carbon credits, the only carbon credits that meet the strict requirements that Fairtrade is known for.

Birds Bees and Business project restoring nature

Fair carbon credits

Even if we do our very best: in this industry it’s impossible to be emission-free. That’s why we want to compensate for our emissions. By buying carbon credits, Recoll finances Fairtrade projects that capture CO2. This is how we make the refilled cartridges of our RecycleClub brand 100% sustainable. Because the number of carbon credits that Recoll buys for cartridges from RecycleClub exactly matches the CO2 emissions released in the production process. That makes our cartridges CO2 neutral.

We believe it is important that our positive impact is greater than just CO2 compensation. That is why we’ve chosen the Fair Climate Fund as a sustainable partner. Because the Fair Climate Fund encourages local farming communities not only to capture CO2 from the air with their activities, but also to protect and develop their vulnerable living environment – including against the effects of climate change. In Burkina Faso, for example, we support the Birds, Bees Business project with the purchase of Fairtrade® GoldStandard® carbon credits. This way we compensate our CO2 emissions 1:1. At the same time, this investment helps limit the consequences of climate change in the short and long term.

Fair Climate Fund applies strict conditions for its sustainable development projects. For example, every project must be sustainable, fair and transparent. These strict conditions lead to proven results. That is why at Recoll we can guarantee that RecycleClub cartridges are actually 100% CO2 neutral.

Working together on awareness

At Recoll, we don’t just take responsibility for every link in our own production process. We go further than just limiting our ecological footprint. That’s why we deliberately work closely with cartridge sellers: retail chains, web shops and retailers. Collecting and reusing more cartridges affects our entire industry. Together we can tackle this part of the resource problem. Our collection and promotional materials help you make your customers aware of the resource problem and what they can do to help counteract it. In the end, many small steps add up to one giant leap forward.

Join Recoll!

The more empty cartridges we have at our disposal, the more remanufactured ink cartridges will enter the market. That’s an attractive prospect. Also for you, because the margin on refilled cartridges is greater. And even without that extra incentive: if there’s a way to conserve precious raw materials, wouldn’t you use it?

Sustainable business
Recoll arranges everything related to the collection
Earn extra income with returned inkjet cartridges

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Questions? Contact us!