Companies are obliged to carry out certain procedures for the final disposal of materials, products, goods, merchandise and garbage, which have already been consumed by daily work, and which are directly or indirectly harmful to human health And the well-being of the environment.
Some of these materials and very important, because of the degree of contamination they can produce, are Toner and Inks for printers.
In this article, I will explain what are the steps that a company must follow for an effective recycling treatment:
- In the first place, the company that generates these residues must educate and train the employees of the Organization who, at the end of the use of cartridges, should NOT throw it in the trash, if not they will have to take them to the sector chosen for reception Of such products.
- The sector chosen for the reception, must have a place destined to the guard of toner and empty inks until its retirement. It can not be filled up to 100%, but before arriving at that point, you must hire a Company (which has the Certificate of Hazardous Waste Management), responsible for transportation and final treatment and / or disposal. waste.
- The contracted company must coordinate with the generating company, day and time for the removal of the materials.
- At the time of withdrawal, the carrier must deliver a certificate clarifying, quantity of product to be withdrawn, unit of measure, status of the product, date of withdrawal, data of the carrier and data of the person responsible for delivering the toner And inks.
- Once the product has been removed the recycling company starts the classification of the cartridges, explained in the following table:
Effects produced by Toner / Ink Contamination.
In Human Health:
Several substances that make up the cartridges represent health risks in the direct exposure of emissions during the printing and / or photocopying process. Small particles are dangerous because they can be breathed and easily pass to the smaller regions of the lungs and even to the blood supply. They can potentially cause respiratory and cardiovascular problems. Typical chemicals are: carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and a range of volatile organic compounds, several of which are carcinogenic.
In the environment:
In several developed countries there are laws that establish rules for the recycling of toner cartridges and inks. Those rules aim to protect the environment from hazardous waste. But compliance with these rules implies significant investments in the recycling program. Not all companies have the resources and desires to launch recycling programs.
The cartridges contain different metals, plastic and the same toner, which can spread in the air 10 times faster than ordinary dust. All this can cause allergies in people, contaminate the soil and water. It is proven that the number of diseases and mortality is higher in cities contaminated by high concentrations of fine particles in the air. The ratio is direct: the higher the fine particle concentration the greater the damage.
After seeing these points, we realize how important the recycling of cartridges is. The reuse of empty containers inhibits the consumption of millions of liters of oil for the plastic manufacture of ink and toner cartridges.
And not only do we take care of the environment by recycling, but we are committed to great cost savings, since the recycling process reuses much of the cartridge components. Other deteriorated or worn parts are replaced to achieve the same quality of an original cartridge, but at half price.
Thanks to the action being taken with recycling, companies are saving large amounts in consumables budgets.
At both a private and business level, we can contribute to recycling by taking the toner and used cartridges to our store or supplier, so they can take care of everything. Just as we select the trash to throw it into the green or yellow container, why not contribute to the recycling of something even more polluting?
I hope this article has been interesting and serves to raise awareness about how important recycling of the cartridges.