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Expanding the Circle of Remanufacturing in the Printing Business
Technologies and services for cartridge remanufacturing
Brother sells laser printers in Europe, the US, and many other countries worldwide, serving a wide range of customers from SOHO (small office and home office) to large corporations. Laser printers print by fixing a colored powder called toner, which is made of various substances, to paper using heat. Brother sells toner in special containers called cartridges, developed specifically for each model to provide stable, high print quality. When cartridges run out of toner, customers need to dispose of and replace them with new cartridges. We received clear requests from our customers asking about remanufacturing the cartridges, and we started to address this issue.
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Newly developing easy-to-recycle cartridges
Upon receiving requests for cartridge remanufacturing and the impact on the environment in mind, we created newly designed cartridges with enhanced durability, capable of being remanufactured multiple times. We have also produced an automated remanufacturing system to ensure that we deliver remanufactured cartridges with the same high quality as new ones.
Expanding know-how to the world
In 2004, we started remanufacturing cartridges in Europe. We created a system that allows customers to return their used cartridges free of charge and, collected cartridges get remanufactured at Brother's factory in Slovakia. The know-how and data accumulated at the Recycling Technology Center in the UK are shared with Brazil, the US, Japan, and other countries as the remanufacturing area grows. We expanded our remanufacturing system to the world.
Toner Cartridges Recycle
Initiatives in New Zealand
Brother International (New Zealand), which started recycling in 2008, provides a system where customers can order bags and boxes to collect products for remanufacturing and recycling, and ship them, free of charge, from anywhere in the country, to major retail stores and service agents in various locations. To date, 99%* of the used cartridges we collect are remanufactured or recycled.
*As of December 2019.
Working Together for a Sustainable Future (Figures in the video are as of December 2019)
SDGs goal 12 aims to create "responsible consumption and production" including target 12.5 which aims to "substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse” to ensure sustainable production and consumption patterns. Remanufacturing / recycling toner cartridges reduce waste in homes and offices and contributes to a sustainable society.
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