Imaging solutions leader Canon believes one of its missions is to maximize the use of finite resources, so they ensure that their products’ energy-efficient technologies go hand in hand with eco-friendly processes.
“We at Canon strive hard to not just create superior imaging products and business solutions for our consumers and partners; we also innovate ways to deliver products and processes in a more eco-friendly manner,” said Canon Marketing (Philippines), Inc. (CMPI) President & CEO Kazuhiro Ozawa. “We have full realization that what we make may eventually end up in landfills after its product life. As a global company, we are mindful of our environmental impact and take responsibility by implementing a closed-loop recycling system. We are proud to be the first company globally to recycle toner cartridges since 1990.”
Canon believes that smart designs and recycling are some of the solutions in addressing global waste and resource issues. As such, they design products that are easier to reuse and recycle, which starts from the selection of materials down to limiting the types of plastics used. In the manufacturing process, they practice a closed-loop recycling method where the byproduct of one process is used to make another product, thereby minimizing or eliminating waste altogether. Canon also steers away from printing unnecessary labels and instead, they engrave information directly to the products.
In Japan in the 1990s, Canon pioneered the recycling of toner cartridges. Last year, they celebrated the 10th year anniversary of Project Homecoming, a recycling program that allows people to properly dispose their empty ink cartridges. And to make it accessible for everyone, over 6,000 recycling bins were deployed across Japanese cities that resulted in 24 million cartridges being collected.
Locally, Canon wishes to replicate the success of Project Homecoming in the Philippines with the relaunch of their ink cartridge recycling program. Together with their local partner Envirotech Waste Recycling, Inc., they plan to transform the collected refuse into usable items. In the future, collected cartridges will be given new life as new collection bins, effectively fueling the program’s expansion.
“Since we started the ink cartridge recycling program here in the Philippines only six years ago, we have collected 7,000 empty ink cartridges from consumers. Our business partners have also been supportive. They have submitted for recycling 99% of the toner cartridges they purchased from us,” said CMPI Vice President Anuj Aggarwal. “In doing this, we hope to encourage everyone to be more conscious about the environment and to start practicing recycling. By choosing greener processes for our own business and providing eco-friendly options to our patrons, we hope to inspire change in the community and to contribute meaningfully to the nation’s sustainable development,” he added.
To meet its goal of collecting at least 30% more ink cartridges and 10% more toner cartridges, Canon is encouraging everyone to participate and drop off empty ink cartridges (non-Canon cartridges are welcome too!) in recycling bins located in the following stores:
- Canon Customer Care Center, G/F Commerce and Industry Plaza, McKinley Hill, Taguig City
- Canon Image Square, 4F SM Aura Premier, Taguig City
- Canon D-Center, 4F Cyberzone Area, SM Megamall, Building B, Mandaluyong City
- Canon D-Zone, 4F Cyeberzone, SM North EDSA – Annex, Quezon City
- Canon D-Zone, 2F Entertainment Mall, Cyberzone, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City
To ensure proper disposal and recycling of its component materials, toner cartridges are collected by Canon’s technical team during maintenance visits.
