The Recycler Issue 317

AROUND THE INDUSTRY
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EUROPE berolina Schriftbild,
Polaroid, Distributor
berolina becomes
distributor of
Polaroid ink
cartridges
berolina Schriftbild, a European
supplier of solutions for printing and
document management, has
announced that it has become a
distributor of Polaroid ink cartridges
as of the beginning of this year.
The Brandenburg-based company,
established in 1968, explains that,
through this new distribution deal, it is
“repositioning itself in the field of ink.”
With the Polaroid brand, berolina is
further expanding its ink business, as
well as “expanding its customers’ supply
of first-class ink cartridges”.
“The Polaroid brand fits in excellently
with our portfolio of strategic
partnerships; It stands for quality with
high colour brilliance, innovation and
tradition alike,” affirms Alexander Busch,
Managing Partner of berolina.
Polaroid is known to the general public
in the field of photography, especially
through its instant cameras. Berolina
reveals that its Polaroid ink cartridges are
“precisely reconditioned modules that
not only reach, but even exceed, the
capacity of the printer manufacturer’s
cartridges.”
The Polaroid ink cartridges also score
points in terms of sustainability: as
remanufactured products, they are an
environmentally friendly alternative, as
they are, according to the manufacturer,
up to 82 percent more CO 2 -friendly than
a newly produced cartridge. In addition,
the packaging of the Polaroid ink
cartridges is made of fully recyclable
plastic.
berolina distributes 16 Polaroid inkjet
cartridges that are compatible with
approximately 150 Canon, Epson and
Hewlett Packard printers. Further
products are currently in the planning
stages, concludes the supplier.
EUROPE Research, Carbon Emission, Remanufacturing
How recycling cartridges helps
cut emissions
A new study conducted by the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and
Energy Technology on behalf of environmental service provider Interseroh has
shown how reusing toner cartridges can have a significant positive impact on
greenhouse gas emissions.
According to the study, the reuse of a single
cartridge compared to the production of a
new one saves 4.49 kg of greenhouse gas
emissions. In addition, per cartridge, 9.39 kg
worth of primary resources are spared.
By comparison, the recycling of a defective
cartridge saves 0.41 kg of greenhouse gas
emissions and 1.94 kg of resources.
The investigation provides evidence of the
environmental benefits of a consistent Reuse
strategy. As a result, according to the will of
the Federal Government, used toner
cartridges will increasingly be reprocessed
and refilled in the future; an appropriate
regulation for the treatment of WEEE is said
to be “in the works”.
Tom Reidick, Managing Director of
INTERSEROH Product Cycle GmbH, has
commented: “By processing and recycling
the toner cartridges collected by Interseroh
alone, we were able to save as many climatedamaging
greenhouse gases in 2017 as 3.530
cars in Germany emit in one year. The
potential is huge.”
“Our study shows once again the
indispensable contribution of the recycling
of products for climate and resource
protection,” emphasised Dr. Markus Hiebel,
Head of Sustainability and Resource
Management at Fraunhofer UMSICHT.
“Reusable toner cartridges significantly
ASIA Ninestar, DecaBDE, Business
Ninestar issues statement on
“unauthorised substance”
Following the recent furore surrounding the discovery of DecaBDE in some newbuild
cartridges, Ninestar has issued a statement regarding the status of its own
third-party printing products.
The company has stated:
“G&G is extremely concerned about the
recent unauthorised substance issue
occurring in the European Union. Due to
this concern, G&G has conducted an
internal inspection, and has also sent
products to a third-party laboratory for
testing. The results show the tested G&G
products complied with all applicable
environmental regulations.”
relieve the burden on the environment - and
can still be recycled at the end of their
product life cycle.” Wherever possible, the
Fraunhofer experts recommend that
professional reprocessing and reuse of
recycling should be preferred.
INTERSEROH Product Cycle GmbH has
been providing various collection systems
for empty printer cartridges and toner
cartridges for many years. In 2017 alone, it
was able to take back around 1.4 million used
cartridges. Of these, half were recycled; the
other 50 percent mostly went into recycling
due to damage or lack of demand. According
to calculations of the Fraunhofer Institute,
this recycling practice saved some 6,300
tons of greenhouse gas emissions and 13,100
tons of primary resources.
The statement goes on to reveal that
“G&G confirms all current stock and future
shipments of products sold in Europe are in
compliance with all applicable European
environmental regulations.”
The company concludes, “G&G will
continue to provide customers with products
that are fully compliant with all applicable
environmental regulations from different
regions.”
Photo - ALBA Group
26 THE RECYCLER • ISSUE 317 • APRIL 2019