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Canon and WBM prevent printer consumables being dumped
The partnerships between the vendor and recycling specialist has been a successful one in its first year
It has been a positive week on the sustainability front across the channel, with examples from the distribution and the vendor community underlining that the commitment to reducing carbon and recycling remains a priority.
Earlier this week, Westcon-Comstor shared its annual Responsible business report detailing steps the firm had taken to reduce Scope 1 And 2 emissions and the work it was continuing to do with the wider community to tackle Scope 3.
That has been followed up by Canon UK & Ireland and Waterloo Business Management, which is a printer consumable recycling specialist, sharing the results of the first year of their partnership.
The firms struck up a relationship in January last year and have been working together to recycle more products and the partnership has seen the two firms divert 33.8 tonnes of toner cartridges and printer consumable waste from heading to landfill, recovering the high-quality raw materials that are used in those products.
That initiative is part of Canon’s efforts to reduce its carbon emissions across the lifecycle of its products to reach its net-zero goal by 2050.
Canon has also been working with its channel partners to get the recycling element included in managed print service propositions and, as a result, has seen more than 336 registered customers covering more than 1,008 account locations emerge over the past year.
Over the year, WBM has made 892 collections, picking up 2,922 boxes, with 42,375 toner bottles being recycled, equating to the 33.8 tonnes figure.
“Our partnership with Canon has enabled WBM to make printer component recycling more accessible and efficient, operating at a wider scale that was not previously possible,” said James O’Connor, managing director at WBM. “This expanded capability not only allows us to significantly increase the volume of recycled materials but also supports Canon’s sustainability goals and enhances the value we deliver to Canon’s customers, offering them a more responsible and environmentally conscious way to manage their print infrastructure.”
Given the need for every part of the ecosystem to demonstrate a commitment to reducing emissions, WBM provides transparency during the collection and recycling process and a portal that provides historical recycling records and downladable environmental certificates to verify the products.
The stigma around using recycled products is dissipating, and testing has demonstrated the plastic recovered often outperforms fresh material.
Arpitha Swamy, environment and product safety specialist at Canon UK & Ireland, said that the supplier was promoting its efforts around recycling to encourage more partners and customers to pursue that option for their end-of-life consumables.
“Canon is actively working to enhance the recyclability of our products as part of our broader commitment to a circular economy. Our partnership with WBM helps reduce waste and keep materials out of landfill. We are excited to deepen our collaboration, to bring the service to more customers across the UK, and to support our partners on their sustainability journeys,” she said.
The Canon and WBM announcement comes as the curtain comes down on Zero Waste Week, an awareness campaign which has been launched to encourage businesses and households to think about reducing what goes into landfill and to enable greater recycling levels.
