Other waste

Cartridges 4 Planet Ark' is an example of an effective extended producer responsibility program. The cost of collecting, transporting, and recycling the cartridges, as well as promoting the program, is paid for by the participating manufacturers - Brother, Canon, Epson, HP, Konica Minolta, Kyocera and Lexmark. What Happens To The Printer Cartridges? All of the cartridges put in to one of our boxes, where in a workplace or a retail collection point, are sent back to Close the Loop® in Melbourne. Once there, they are had sorted and their brand and type recorded. Many of the laser cartridges are sent back to the original equipment manufacturers for their re-manufacturing or component recovery programs. What happens in the Close the Loop® recycling process? The inkjet cartridges, toner bottles and drum units are processed through the patented, Australian-made Green Machine, which reduces the cartridges to smaller particles that can be more easily separated. Inkjet cartridges are processed through another machine, which also uses patented world-first technology. Magnets are used to remove ferrous (iron-based) metals. While eddie currents are used to remove aliuminium. This waste stream is a complex mix of potentially valuable and/or hazardous raw materials needing state of the art equipment for safe processing and handling. The end result of this process is the recovery of 'raw' materials. These 'secondary raw materials' are further filtered, upgraded and then used instead of virgin materials in normal manufacturing to make new products. The ultimate aim is to return the raw materials back to the original equipment manufacturer for reuse in new cartridges. All of this is achieved with zero waste going to landfill. For further information please contact Council's Customer Service Centre on 1300COUNCIL.

Contact details

Waste Management Coordinator

1300 268 624

info@wdrc.qld.gov.au

Western Downs Regional Council website