Lexmark offers incentive to recycle

Henrik Stensfeldt says used toner cartridges will be sent to Australia and their components will be used to rebuild 'new' products.

Computer printer maker Lexmark has launched an initiative aimed at getting New Zealand businesses recycling.

New Zealand and Australia managing director Henrik Stensfeldt said the company was aiming to recycle 20 to 40 per cent of all toner cartridges sold to Kiwi businesses in the next year.

"What we're doing is give our customers a programme which allows them to be more environmentally friendly," Stensfeldt said.

Under the system, large organisations will use departmental drop boxes and smaller operations can print off a pre-paid envelope label and return used cartridges by post.

Used cartridges will be sent to Australia and their components will be used to rebuild "new" products.

Stensfeldt hopes the rebuilding can be moved to New Zealand within two years.

Customers who sign up to the scheme will receive about a 10 per cent discount on new cartridges.

The cost of collection and processing cartridges for Lexmark roughly equals the saving in materials.

 

Market analyst IDC's preliminary figures for the December quarter put Lexmark in fourth place in the New Zealand laser printer market, behind Hewlett-Packard, Brother and OKI.

The Lexmark programme allows customers to access detailed reports.

Stensfeldt said this ability to track and manage activities could cut print bills by up to 50 per cent.

"Overall cost is driven by behaviour, misuse and so forth. Most organisations in our experience will be spending between 3 and 5 per cent of their revenue on this particular area - the cost of putting things on paper."

Sustainability consultant for IAG Anthea Ogilview said the insurance giant had identified paper printing as an area in need of management.

"We are ordering all over the show and we don't know what's being ordered, when and by whom.

"This should make it a lot more centralised ... with the ability to look at what individual users are using and what their workflow is like."

Ogilvie said the issue of looking over printer users' shoulders would need to be handled with care if recent consumer experiments with data gathering were anything to go by.

In November, Lexmark found itself in hot water as rumours flew in internet newsgroups of the company installing spyware on customers' computers.

Spyware programs are installed without the user's knowledge to transmit data out when a computer is connected to the internet.

Data transmitted is often records of web browsing activity used for advertising and marketing purposes, but can include personal information such as passwords and bank details.

"First of all, it's not true," Stensfeldt said.

He said the driver software supplied with some printers "gives customers the ability to push information to us about how they use their printer".

However, customers had to switch the feature on in order for data to be transmitted.

Installation screen shots displayed in internet newsrooms confirm that the data gathering software is identified during the installation process. 

 How it works

* Printer maker wants to recycle up to 40 per cent of toner cartridges.

* Cost of programme will be offset by savings in manufacturing.

* Customers who join recycling programme will save 10 per cent on cost of new cartridges.