According to the Bundesdeutscher Arbeitskreis für Umweltbewusstes Management, or B.A.U.M. e.V. for short, an estimated 55 million ink cartridges and 8 million toner cartridges are sold over the counter in Germany every year, and the trend is rising.
The market share of refilled ink cartridges and recycled toner cartridges is currently about 12%, which corresponds to 12.8 million ink cartridges and 2.5 million monochrome toner cartridges. The market share of colour toner cartridges is currently still slightly less than 8%, which corresponds to 0.4 million colour toner cartridges. This means that almost 90% of the empty printer cartridges end up in the rubbish. A huge mountain of waste that grows every year. Yet most empty toner and printer cartridges are suitable for recycling. Each remanufactured toner cartridge saves up to 10 litres of crude oil! Instead of disposing of printer cartridges, disposing of toner cartridges or disposing of ink cartridges, we offer environmentally friendly recycling. And unlike other ink or toner return systems, you even receive a remuneration!
Avoiding waste and conserving non-renewable resources, such as oil or copper, are more than a green utopia. Climate change reminds us that we should use the finite raw materials of our earth sparingly and intelligently. That is why our primary business policy is not to dispose of used toner and ink cartridges in the short term, but to intelligently feed these valuable materials to the recycling industry. In this way, the purchased toners and inks are reprocessed and thus find their way back into the economic cycle. This is intelligent, sustainable and environmentally friendly.
The Closed Substance Cycle and Waste Management Act of 1996 already prescribed a modern way of dealing with waste. The new Closed Substance Cycle Waste Management Act, which will come into force on 1 June 2012, further tightens the requirements: the principle of "avoid" before "recycle" before "dispose" applies. In any case, priority is given to the more environmentally sound method of use. In the case of used toner and ink cartridges, resource-saving recycling thus clearly takes precedence over disposal. After all, the production of a new toner cartridge usually consumes 2-3 litres of crude oil. This does not have to be the case. Therefore, recycling empty cartridges and ink cartridges is a priority for us.
The actual recycling rate (proportion of components that can be reused) is now over 90 percent. It is not only the environment that benefits, because waste that does not accumulate is still the best waste. On top of that, collecting is also rewarded. Figures from recent years, for example, prove that it is not just a "marginal existence":
Last year, for example, geldfuermuell GmbH recycled empty printer cartridges, ink cartridges and toner cartridges with a total weight of more than 400,000 kg and a paid-out purchase value of more than 500,000 euros. Measured against 80 million printer cartridges sold, this is just a start. We are working on it, help us! By disposing of toner cartridges via geldfuermuell instead of disposing of toner with household or residual waste.
As a recycling service provider, we guarantee environmentally responsible handling of your empties. In addition to complying with the Closed Substance Cycle and Waste Management Act, we are a DEKRA-certified specialist waste management company and are thus authorised to store and treat waste. Certification as a specialist company means requirements for the organisation and equipment of our company as well as for the reliability and competence of our trained staff. In this way, we always offer you our services in line with the latest legislation and environmental technology standards.
You will receive a statement of whereabouts for the empty printer cartridges sent in. This lists all the recyclable printer cartridges sent in individually.
Not all empty ink and printer cartridges are suitable for the ink and toner recycling process via geldfuermuell. The technical feasibility plays just as much a role as the demand for the remanufactured modules on the part of the end user. Please refer to our purchase price list to find out which manufacturers you can recycle through us.