HP Pledges to Use 100M lbs of Recycled Plastic by 2011

by | Nov 16, 2010

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HP has produced more than 1 billion ink cartridges manufactured with recycled plastic, according to the company’s latest environmental update on reducing waste, materials reuse and recycling. HP also has pledged to use a total of 100 million pounds of recycled plastic in printing products by 2011 (cumulatively, since 2007).

HP also has developed manufacturing processes that use recycled plastics — including HP ink cartridges and plastic water bottles — in Original HP ink cartridges, which delivers an estimated 22 percent reduction in carbon footprint and a 69 percent reduction in total water use when compared with using virgin plastics in the manufacture of 1 billion Original HP ink cartridges.

In the area of recycling, HP and its customers have kept approximately 1.3 billion plastic bottles and 160 million HP ink cartridges out of landfills.

The recycled plastic used in HP ink cartridges produced in 2010 and beyond is estimated to reduce total water used in plastics production by up to 89 percent. It also offers an estimated 33 percent smaller carbon footprint than virgin plastic in Original HP ink cartridges, even when the impact associated with collecting, transporting and processing used cartridges and plastic bottles is included.

In the area of new product development, HP claims the industry’s first polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-free printer (HP ENVY 100 e-All-in-One), and products made with up to 35 percent recycled plastic like the HP Deskjet 3050 All-in-One.

HP says the HP ENVY 100 e-All-in-One meets the definition of PVC free as stated in the iNEMI Position Statement on the Definition of Low-Halogen Electronics (BFR-/CFR-/PVC-free). Plastic parts contain less than 1,000 ppm (0.1 percent) of chlorine (if the Cl source is from CFRs or PVC or PVC copolymers).

However, HP notes that printers sold in Korea are not PVC free, and USB cable, required in limited geographic areas, is not PVC free.

In addition, HP offers a variety of Energy Star- qualified devices that help reduce energy use. These include printers that offer automated two-sided printing, which also help customers reduce printing waste.

HP, along with Samsung and Lenovo, made the biggest strides in developing “green” products, according to the latest update of the Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics.

HP also has created energy and costs savings programs for customers of all sizes and types. For enterprise customers, HP offers Managed Print Services (MPS). As an example, HP helped United Stationers, a North American wholesale distributor of business products, reduce its fleet of printers and copiers from 160 different makes and models to just a few HP models for reduced energy and supplies costs.

Through the printer overhaul, MPS achieved a 30 percent cost savings. The company expects to save another 20 to 25 percent through planned rollouts of other HP solutions.

Retail photo customers are also getting help from HP. As an example, a 2010 life cycle assessment showed that the carbon footprint of HP Minilab printers was up to 30 percent smaller than that of silver-halide systems. In one year, this cuts greenhouse gas emissions by an amount comparable to up to 386 gallons of gasoline consumption or approximately 38,000 hours of LCD TV viewing, according to HP.

For small and medium business customers, the HP Officejet Pro 8500A e-All-in-One delivers 50 percent lower energy use and cost per page than competitive laser printers and yields an 80 percent reduction in packaging and supplies waste over the life of the printer.

HP also offers recycled papers and is working on deinking research for the responsible disposal of ink. The company also offers a media take-back program for responsible disposable of media for graphic arts customers.

In the area of packaging, HP offers reusable totes for several product lines, offering packaging that is 99 percent reusable or recyclable and allowing customers to reduce their use of plastic shopping bags in the future.

In packaging its consumer printers, HP has replaced foam cushioning with recyclable pulp cushioning (where possible) and replaced plastic bags with reusable bags. In 2010, HP has avoided the use of materials equivalent to more than 300 million 6-ounce Styrofoam cups and enough plastic to cover 1,400 NFL football fields.

In 2010, HP estimates that it used approximately 10.5 million pounds of recycled plastic in its consumer printers.

Many of HP’s large enterprise printing products now ship in ClearView packaging, which saves up to 147 tons of corrugated fiberboard per year. HP uses minimal foam supports and wraps the product in widely recyclable film, reducing the volume and weight of packaging by 70 percent.

In February, HP updated its global corporate policy to ban exports of non-working electronics (e-waste) to developing countries.

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