In this project, Umweltcluster Bayern together with ECOLOGICON GmbH is investigating the feasibility of an economically viable end-of-life recycling solution for toner cartridges in the target countries Ghana and Malaysia as a model for the regions of West Africa and ASEAN. The goal is to gain initial feasibility insights that can lead to further steps.
Project Objectives
Developing and emerging countries, especially in the Asian region, are currently the fastest growing markets for office printing products. This results in a very high consumption of toner cartridges from laser printers and copiers. Original "OEM cartridges" can usually be re-used several times, even if this is currently undesirable for most manufacturers. After that, they reach the end of their life cycle. For so-called "newbuild" toner cartridges from third-party manufacturers, this usually applies after just one use due to their design.
What both "types" of toner cartridges have in common is that they not only contain valuable raw materials, but also numerous pollutants. Their incineration or landfill therefore leads to both avoidable resource consumption and significant pollution of soil, air and water. From an ecological point of view, it is therefore essential that toner cartridges are sent for material recycling after use if they can no longer be reused or recycled. However, recycling cartridges is relatively costly due to the residual toner dust, which is hazardous to health, contaminates reusable materials and poses a risk of dust explosions.
For these reasons, recycling requires specialized expertise and has not yet been implemented in the target countries of this project. On the other hand, German plant engineers and planners are among the best experts in Europe, which is why the export of these technologies could make a valuable contribution to improving the environmental situation in the target countries and open up new markets for German companies. The project investigates the feasibility of an economically viable "end-of-life" solution for toner cartridges in the target countries Malaysia and Ghana as a model for the West African and ASEAN region. The aim is to gain initial insights into feasibility that could lead to further steps in the target countries. At the same time, a methodology is to be developed based on the example of these two countries, which should facilitate the feasibility of implementation in other threshold and developing countries.
Project Partner
ECOLOGICON GmbH | Circular Economy & Consulting
In Ghana, we work together with
- Republic of Ghana, Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation
- German Society for International Cooperation
Funding and Project Duration
The project has a duration of two years (05/2022 - 02/2024).
It is funded by the "Export Initiative Environmental Protection" (EXI) program of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV).
Further information
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