Business technology solutions provider Brother has become the first print vendor to remanufacture its inkjet cartridges, as part of a new free service to help users contribute to circular economies.
Brother has launched a new inkjet cartridge remanufacturing line at its Recycling Technology Centre in Wrexham, North Wales, and expects to remanufacture over two million inkjet cartridges a year once fully operational. Its investment in the new service will create 20 new jobs to add to its 185-strong workforce in Wrexham.
Business and home users can return used ink cartridges free of charge to Brother. All consumables are then inspected, taken apart, cleaned and put together again, including any new parts required. The cartridges are then refilled with Brother Original ink, ensuring they are exactly the same quality as ‘new’ products.
The new service adds to its existing capability to remanufacture toner cartridges from laser printers. Brother has remanufactured more than 40 million toner cartridges globally since it began the service from Ruabon, near Wrexham, in 2004. In the two decades since, its specialist in-house engineering team has optimised the process, being accredited with the Blue Angel sustainability certification last year for its TN-3512 RE toner consisting of more than 75% of reused parts (by weight). A sister site in Slovakia makes the vendor the leading remanufacturer of used toners.
Brother currently saves approximately 5,300 tonnes of CO2 every year by remanufacturing in this way, and it expects this to increase once its ink remanufacturing operation is at capacity. The process ensures that even damaged cartridges are repurposed or fully recycled with full traceability of parts to track how many times a cartridge has been remanufactured, with users encouraged to return inkjet cartridges over the last year to build stock ready for the line to begin operation.
The launch comes after market intelligence provider IDC named Brother as a ‘Leader’ for sustainability in the print sector – the highest accolade it awards – following a review of the vendor’s sustainability initiatives, with judges praising the strength of the group’s Environmental Vision 2050.
Craig McCubbin, managing director at Brother Industries UK, said: “Remanufacturing cartridges saves thousands of tonnes of carbon each year, forming a crucial way in which we can decarbonise the use of – and delivery of – print technology. Becoming the first print OEM to remanufacture inkjet cartridges shows how committed we are to pioneering this change, with our dedicated R&D team creating new ways for users to contribute to circular economies.
“This investment is just the start of a new era of sustainability innovation from Brother. We’re continually finding ways to make our products easier and more efficient to remanufacture, so that every new product we introduce is more sustainable and longer lasting than the previous one.”
The new service is available in 30 European countries and every new Brother ink cartridge comes with a free-post envelope for returns.
