As part of the company’s recycling programme, each cartridge goes through a stringent checking process, with components either reused or replaced.
Brother said this means the majority of cartridges can be remanufactured to restore them to their original condition. The company added that any parts that can’t be reused are recycled.
Brother’s recycling and environment technology centre at Ruabon in North Wales uses 100 per cent green-certified electricity to power the plant and a fleet of electric vehicles, and was recently certified as carbon neutral by The Carbon Trust.
The business also donates to the rainforest charity, CoolEarth, for every used cartridge it receives.
Craig McCubbin, managing director of Brother Industries UK, said, “To say we’re proud of this achievement is an understatement. Of the 40 million cartridges our customers have returned, 86 per cent have been remanufactured using our market leading process, which is unique across the printing landscape.
“Our waste hierarchy is simple. We want to reuse as much as we can. In 2021 our remanufactured toner cartridges had a 33 per cent lower carbon footprint than new ones. And by remanufacturing in the way we do, we save approximately 5,300 tonnes of CO2 globally every year – which is equivalent to taking 1,150 cars off the road.”
Brother’s collection scheme has been zero waste to landfill accredited since 2013. The company began processing a handful of cartridges in 2004. Since then, it has grown to recycling and remanufacturing approximately 3 million toner cartridges a year.