with millions of discarded printer cartridges accumulating in landfills each year-and persisting for up to a millennium-the need for sustainable solutions within the printing industry is increasingly critical. Brother is responding to this challenge with a thorough remanufacturing program aimed at minimizing waste and maximizing resource recovery. As 2004, the company has diverted over 35 million cartridges from landfills, demonstrating a commitment to the circular economy and responsible manufacturing practices, with a fully carbon-neutral facility at the heart of its European operations.
Hundreds of millions of printer cartridges end up in landfills globally each year – plastic products that can take up to 1,000 years to decompose. However, this disposal isn’t necessarily the end of their useful life, but rather a missed opportunity for resource recovery. This highlights the growing importance of the circular economy and the responsibility of manufacturers to account for the lifecycle of their products, even after they’ve been used.
Brother is among the companies actively embracing this philosophy. Since 2004, the company has operated its own collection and remanufacturing program for consumables in Europe. To date, the initiative has diverted over 35 million cartridges from landfills, equating to approximately 17,500 tons of waste prevented.
At the heart of this process is Brother’s European remanufacturing facility in Slovakia. The plant operates under a “Zero Waste to Landfill” policy, ensuring no waste from the remanufacturing process is sent to landfills. Serving Central and Eastern Europe, the Slovakian facility is also carbon neutral and powered by solar panels. This approach is increasingly significant as electronic waste represents one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the EU, with a substantial portion still ending up in landfills.
How the Program Works
Returned cartridges undergo 150 stages of inspection, cleaning, and recycling. Approximately 86% are restored to a like-new condition. Components that cannot be reused are 100% recycled. This process saves around 5,300 tons of CO₂ annually – the equivalent of removing nearly 1,150 cars from the road. Globally, Brother demonstrates that remanufacturing is significantly more efficient than creating entirely new consumables, both in terms of raw materials and carbon emissions.
Източник: Brother
Consumers can easily and freely return Brother toner and ink cartridges as part of this system.
The Inkbenefit series provides a compelling example, with the Brother DCP-T530DW – a 3-in-1 inkjet printer featuring automatic two-sided printing and a high-yield ink tank system. A single black ink bottle provides up to 7,500 pages for €9.79 (including VAT). Color ink bottles yield up to 5,000 pages each, priced at €7.35 (including VAT) per color. This configuration delivers a low cost per print and exceptionally low page costs.
The Brother DCP-L1630W from the tonerbenefit series complements this concept for monochrome printing, utilizing a black toner cartridge with a capacity of 1,500 pages for €25.00 (including VAT), and a long-life drum unit with a lifespan of 10,000 pages for €28.47 (including VAT). This setup ensures economical operation with original consumables and predictable costs over time.
Източник: Brother
The environmental benefits extend beyond recycling to the product design itself. Brother cartridges are engineered for disassembly and repair, embodying the principles of the circular economy and maximizing resource value.
Sustainability in printing is demonstrated through concrete actions, from manufacturing at the Slovakian facility to the packaging used for returning empty cartridges.
“In Bulgaria, a functioning system has been established where every step contributes to reducing waste and more efficient resource utilization, with real benefits for consumers, businesses, and the environment. It has been functioning for years through the organized collection of used consumables for recycling and eliminating electronic waste from the printing activities of companies,” said Ива Тотева, Sales and Marketing Manager at Brother Bulgaria.
Explore the full range of consumables and learn more about Brother’s sustainable printing solutions at https://www.brother.bg/.
Източник: Brother
Съдържание на:Brother
