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In the spirit of Kyosei - living and working together for the common good - Canon Australia strives for environmental protection both in our daily operations and through support activities. Canon Australia stresses an "eco-tech" approach to our work that creates harmony between ecology and technology. From product design, to manufacturing, to sales, we work to conserve energy and resources, maximize product lifecycles and eliminate hazardous materials from our products and processes. To help us actively achieve our environmental goals, Canon Australia has joined forces with Planet Ark in a unique environmental programme called 'Cartridges 4 Planet Ark' aimed at remanufacturing or recycling laser and inkjet cartridges. Canon New Zealand Customers - For information on Canon New Zealand's cartridge collection program please call 0800 222 666 (2 CANON) Other Canon Oceania customers - For customers outside Australia and New Zealand, Canon is currently in the process of developing appropriate collection methods. Cartridges for Planet Ark The benefits of 'Cartridges 4 Planet Ark' How are the catridges recycled? Recycling Near You Byteback Australian Battery Recycling Initiative (ABRI) Cartridges for Planet Ark  Canon Australia joined forces with Planet Ark in a unique environmental programme called 'Cartridges 4 Planet Ark' aimed at remanufacturing or recycling laser and inkjet cartridges. Each year Australians use more than 18 million laser and inkjet cartridges, collectively weighing over 5,000 tonnes. The majority of them eventually end up in landfill, even though they can contain substances that are hazardous to the environment.* 'Cartridges 4 Planet Ark' is a nationwide campaign designed to address this issue by using new recycling technology developed by Close The Loop, an Australian hi-tech recycling company. Canon is a founding sponsor of the programme and aims to remanufacture or recycle as many cartridges as possible. "As a leader in environmental preservation, Canon is proud to be a sponsor of 'Cartridges 4 Planet Ark'," said Mr Shuichi Tsukahara, Managing Director, Canon Australia. "Canon supports a wide range of environmental programmes and recycling has always played a central role in our activities. Globally, for example, Canon currently operates the world's largest toner-cartridge recycling programme, so 'Cartridges 4 Planet Ark' is a natural extension of our vision for a clean and healthy environment," he said. A significant percentage of the components in Canon toner cartridges are parts that are from previously used cartridges. These components are added to new cartridges as part of Canon's stringent-quality re-use program. Specially-marked boxes People will be able to drop off all brands of used cartridges in specially-marked boxes at participating Australia Post, Officeworks and Harvey Norman outlets. The collection program is also available free of charge to selected businesses and government departments anywhere in Australia simply by calling 1800 24 24 73. The publicly returned cartridges will be sent to Close The Loop, where they are sorted and processed, depending on the types of materials they contain. What can't be remanufactured by Canon will be recycled. Everything from the plastics, aluminium, steel, toner powder and even the ink from inkjet cartridges is re-used or recycled. The recycling process is highly efficient and provides a complete breakdown of components to produce marketable commodities such as aluminium, ferrous metal, plastics, toner and ink. "The current revolution in digital imaging has seen Australians use more ink and toner cartridges than ever before. This can only expand as more people take up digital photography and home photo-printing," added Mr Tsukahara. Canon and other printer manufacturers are supporting this Planet Ark program by covering the cost of collecting and recycling the cartridges. This level of support is unprecedented. *Please note that the toners and inks currently used in Canon products are classed as non-hazardous according to the criteria of WorkSafe Australia.  The benefits of 'Cartridges 4 Planet Ark' There are numerous benefits to participating in 'Cartridges 4 Planet Ark': - You'll be taking a proactive step towards responsible corporate citizenship and helping the environment. - By participating in the program you'll be meeting Government Procurement Policies. - You'll be addressing important environmental issues and reducing the waste that goes to landfill. - Employees will feel pride in working for an environmentally-conscious organisation and a good corporate citizen. Your Resource Recovery Certificate If you are a Canon business customer and your company registers to participate in this program, Planet Ark will issue you with a Resource Recovery Certificate as your company's guarantee of zero cartridge waste to landfill. The Certificates identify the exact volumes your company is diverting from landfill (itemising cartridges, bottles and drum kits). The information can be used to balance the number of consumables purchased against the volume being recycled. Resource Recovery Certificates can be provided monthly, quarterly, 6-monthly or yearly, depending on your requirements. How are the catridges recycled? The collected cartridges will be sent for sorting to hi-tech Melbourne recycling company Close the Loop (TM) - inventors of 'The Green Machine', an invention that recycles every part of an ink or toner cartridge. Some laser cartridges in good condition are sent back to their original makers to be remanufactured for re-use, but eventually even these cartridges will go through The Green Machine. The remaining cartridges are broken down and recycled using The Green Machine's unique technology. This highly efficient process recovers all materials such as aluminium, plastics, ferrous metal, toner and ink. These are then made into new products. For more information on how this works, visit www.planetark.com/cartridges The ultimate benefit of 'Cartridges 4 Planet Ark' is that nothing ends up as landfill. Recycling Near You  Canon helps Planet Ark - use the Planet Ark locator to find your nearest place to recycle your cartridges. Click here Byteback  Byteback is a free computer takeback program to help people dispose of unwanted computer equipment responsibly. Byteback is an Australian first as government and industry are sharing responsibility for disposing of computer waste safely. Sustainability Victoria is running Byteback in partnership with the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) and founding industry partners, including Canon. There are currently two sites in Camberwell and Geelong. Byteback will run in Victoria until the end of 2008. More > Total waste collected July 2005 to December 2007  Australian Battery Recycling Initiative (ABRI) Further information will be posted after the first ABRI Annual General Meeting in September 2008. |
