The Lexmark Cartridge Collection Program (LCCP) has seen more than 60 000 cartridges collected and recycled in South Africa over the past year.
The programme is voluntary and enables Lexmark customers to contribute to an environmentally-friendly initiative where all types of Lexmark print and toner cartridges are collected by the company for free for total recycling.
“The programme has been running for the past year and has been a great success,” says Nathan Nayagar, MD of Lexmark South Africa and English speaking Africa. “This global initiative is one step closer to achieving a circular economy that will eventually minimise resource input, waste, emissions and energy leakage.”
Lexmark collects an average of 4 000 cartridges per month, all of which are 100% recyclable. This is critical in light of the fact that it takes about 1000 years for a print/toner cartridge to decompose in a landfill.
According to an article by The Energy Collective, 37-million ink cartridges are thrown away every year. While this is a global figure, it clearly showcases room for improvement when we consider that South Africa lags behind developed nations when it comes to recycling.
“There is always room for growth and while, locally, the LCCP is still in its early days, our growth rate has been satisfying,” Nayagar says.
He believes the programme’s success is because of the easy way it works. “All willing participants needs to do is sign in and register a Lexmark account, from there a special container will be delivered to our client’s offices that will store all types of empty Lexmark toner and ink cartridges. When it is full simply get hold us online via our app, or give us a call.”
