How do you catch a ghost?

Now, I wouldn't say we're superstitious here, but somethings are unexplainable...

We employ three drivers at Greensource. Part of their job is to go and collect empty cartridges from businesses local to us.

There's always been competition and sometimes cartridges will have been taken by another collector - I guess we've done the same on occasion. Most collectors are charity affiliated and most businesses retain loyalty to a certain collector, because of the charity they support.

However the course of events since 2007 has changed this in Bristol. Greensource acquired the two other cartridge collectors local to us and effectively all this argie bargie of one man taking another ones cartridges should have ended...but it didn't.

There is a mysterious/indescribable/ninja/ghost woman who drifts in and out of offices in Bristol taking empty cartridges. I'm starting to obsess about this particular individual though the more I dig the less I know.

Soze cartridge recycling - yes I do support charity!

So, getting in to the role of chief investigator at Greensource I ask all the businesses we collect from and who are aware of this woman who she works for, if they have contact details, even what she looks like! And I come up with zip.
People are genuinely unable to even describe this woman. It's like she has the ability to stand in a room and do what she chooses without anyone even seeing her.

This is becoming surreal and laughable and I am enjoying the jokes with our donors about it.

But there is a serious side that I am more than happy to make platitudes about.
We collect to raise funds for our charity partners and two of these charities are local to us - St Peter's Hospice and Children's Hospice South West. So beyond my bafflement I see our charity partners missing out on something they deserve.

The ghost collector does mention to the businesses she frequents that a charity benefits. But no one seems to pin point which one...The two mentioned most commonly are NSPCC and Clic Sargeant.
I'm really taking the role seriously now, so phone up both charities and dig a little and find out no one regionally or nationally is aware of someone in the Bristol area doing this on their behalf. This is weird - and possibly fraudulent.

My mind is racing, trying on the one hand to justify what the cartridge ninja does (simply a good person, supporting charity very anonymously) while pragmatically building up a case against this (seriously, how easy is it to go and sell empty cartridges for the average person and why is it all so vague!!!!)

Experience of working with charities leads my cynicism on, as official relationships need to be airtight and a regular supporter/volunteer would be known by someone

And now my own paranoia takes hold. What if I do unmask a fraud, who has been living off this for years and ruin their life? Maybe I'll unleash a monster hellbent on taking revenge - it happens!!!

What 2011 holds, for us and the cartridge pixie time will only tell.


NB I like telling this story because it adds a different kind of colour to the business than the CMYK we deal in.

Greensource Solutions unveils the online cartridge recycling search tool

Greensource Solutions is proud to announce its online cartridge search tool is now live and ready for use!

Printer cartridge recycling is a subjective thing. Sadly not every cartridge can be accepted by us (and other collectors in the industry) as not every cartridge is refilled.
We've always published a cartridge guide that people could look at online, or receive from us. However, if you don't live, eat and breathe cartridges like us it could be a tad unwieldy.

After some thought and a lot of development there is a new way to check whether we can accept the cartridges you want to recycle.

The idea is simple, you have cartridges you want to check can be recycled?
Go on the cartridge search tool and select the brand of the cartridge. Then check the list and hey presto we hope you have cartridges we can accept!

We also provide information in the subsequent email sent out which can direct you to what to do with cartridges we can't accept - you can also check out this previous blog

All of this is done to reuse, reduce landfill and raise money for our charity partners

3d Printing!!!!

A supporter of Greensource Solutions passed this onto me recently. 3D printing!!!!

It's not like that though! 3D printing is not about making blurry pictures, these printers actually make physical things like prosthetic limbs, quirky lampshades or houses!!!

I only found out about this, because Greensource Solutions is involved in printing, but not NASA style printing.

The principals seem similar: The machine gets a design sent to it from computer and adds layer upon layer of whatever material it uses and hey presto there's your finished product.

Apparently this technology has been around for sometime, but it feels very 21st century to me.

Battery car, or Diesel - which has least impact?

Straying from the normal fare, my boss passed me this interesting report produced by the Swiss Government which calculated the impact of a battery powered car compared to a diesel powered vehicle.
Believe it or not, diesel vehicles come off better in the study. The clincher is the source of energy that battery cars use to power up - if the electricity comes from a dirty power station then it doesn't look good.

This study most importantly (in my mind) raises that age old dilemma of how people perceive change. In this particulat example, Battery power has clear advantages if its power can be obtained from clean sources. But the transition will always cost dearly.

Check out this Infographic about Recycling in the UK

Claire from Recycling.co.uk forwarded Greensource Towers this lovely looking infographic about the levels of household recycling that currently occurs in the UK. Here's a small version of it...

Infographic by Recycle - Don't bin it, recycle it

I was fascinated and slightly horrified by the decomposition times of things I am guilty of throwing away (nappies take 550 years!!! that is a long time smell).

I think it's time to build that DIY pyrolysis chamber in my back yard.

Definitely worth a read.

Got toners you can't recycle?

We collect empty printer cartridges. We've done it for years! We do it because many printer cartridges have still got a lot of life in them after they've run out of ink. So an empty can be refilled, reconditioned, remanufactured, turned into a compatible (there's a lot of different phrases that people use).

I like to think of it as 21st century rag and bone because we take what many see as rubbish and give it new life

"Greensource Solutions, how can I help?"

However, there's always been cartridges no one wants to refill. Sometimes we think we have a good answer for this, sometimes all we can say is dems da breaks.

After extensive planning and research I thought to provide some answers to where this detritus might go - other than landfill which we never like to promote (in some cases, unless you are willing to pay that is all there is though). Click on the manufacturer name where relevant to go to their web page.

THE MANUFACTURERS RETURNS SCHEMES FOR TONERS

Brother

Have a freepost scheme for many of their empty cartridges that we can't accept.

http://www.brother.co.uk/s_page/204810/s_name/recycling22/s_element/1682140/searchkey/toner%20recycling

Canon 

Use Ereco to recycle all of their empty toners and cartridges that cannot be refilled (often the C-EXV parts).

http://www.canon.co.uk/About_Us/About_Canon/Environmental_Activities/Canon_eReco_tonerbottlerecycling.aspx

They do have a recycling program for low value inks:

http://www.canon.co.uk/recycling/inkjet/index.aspx

Danwood

Have a returns scheme (publicised in their brochures) in partnership with Accutec. Call Danwood head office T: 01753 630000 for more information.

Dell

For ink cartridges we can't accept.

https://www.printerecycling.com/Default.aspx?pid=1&rO=3&culture=en-GB

Epson

Their inkjet cartridge range can be returned via this link.

http://content.epson-europe.com/environment/collectandrecycle/en/

Gestetner

Online they state their toner cartridges all have a returns label in the box. On a side note Gestetner is part of the NRG group which is owned by Ricoh.

http://www.gestetner.co.uk/about_us/environment/environmental_management/index.xhtml

Hewlett Packard

All cartridges we can't accept can be returned to them via their Planet Partners programme.

https://h30248.www3.hp.com/recycle/ereturns/welcome-hpe.asp?__cc=gb&__la=en

IBM

No scheme in place.

Ikon

See Ricoh below.

Kodak

On their website they say that certain retail outlets will accept their inks (but give no specifics).

http://shop.kodak.co.uk/store/ekconseu/en_GB/pd//productID.187982700

16/07/10 UPDATE!! After speaking with their customer service line, they currently don't have any UK based returns scheme and suggested seeing if the retailer would accept the empty cartridges.

Konica Minolta

Operate the World on loan scheme. They use Imprint (new! change in 2013 / 2014) to recycle all of their empty toners and cartridges that cannot be refilled.

http://www.konicaminolta.co.uk/business-solutions/environment/bizhub-printers-consumable-recycling.html

Kyocera Mita

http://www.kyoceradocumentsolutions.co.uk/index/toner_cassette_returns.html

Lanier

See Ricoh below.

Lexmark

Have a inkjet and laser collection program.

http://www1.lexmark.com/en_GB/about-us/collection-and-recycling-program/cartridge-collection-program/index.shtml

Mannesman Tally

See Printronix below.

Nashuatec

Online they state their toner cartridges all have a returns label in the box. They are part of the NRG Group which is owned by Ricoh.

Online they state their toner cartridges all have a returns label in the box.

NRG Group

Runs Nashuatec, Rex Rotary and Gestetner brands. This company is owned by Ricoh.

Oce

(Part of Canon now who bought them out) Do have information about toner bottle recycling on site, but of the three options returning to them is the last and it doesn't seem guaranteed they will accept.

http://sustainability.oce.com/care-and-dispose.asp

Oki

Operate their own returns scheme using freepost bags/labels.

http://www.oki.co.uk/corporate/environment/detail.aspx?id=tcm:122-101705-16

Panasonic

Operate their own returns scheme using freepost labels supplied in the cartridge box

http://panasonic.net/eco/factory/product_recycle/out_of_japan.html#section-01

Printronix

They took over Tallys laser printer range when Tally went bust in 2009. They no longer operate the printer cartridge return scheme, as it costs too much for them and their customers.

Rex Rotary

Online they state their toner cartridges all have a returns label in the box. They are part of the NRG group which is owned by Ricoh.

http://www.rexrotary.co.uk/about_us/environment/environmental_management/index.xhtml

Ricoh

UPDATE 13/08/13

Ricoh now state they run a free of charge collection scheme. I've been told a condition is buying supplies direct from Ricoh. The scheme hasn't been proven to work yet!

http://www.ricoh.co.uk/about-ricoh/our-principles/environment/ricoh-toner-recycling/

They also still seem to use Ereco as a charged collection scheme.

Note that Lanier and Ikon are both brands owned by Ricoh (Lanier is part of their US division and Ikon are a Ricoh company).

Samsung

Have the STAR program for cartridge returns.

http://www.samsung.com/printer/STAR/

Sharp

Use Ereco to recycle all of their empty toners and cartridges that cannot be refilled.

http://www.fcbs.co.uk/environmental/consumable-recycling-scheme.pdf

Tally

See Printronix above.

Toshiba

Charge £40 per boxed collection, of which they pay 50% of charges. TNT collect on their behalf.

email: consumables.orders@toshibatec.co.uk

Xerox

Their Greenworld Alliance Scheme freepost return scheme can be used to return single cartridges.

http://www.xerox.com/about-xerox/recycling/enus.html

Xerox also make provision for larger collections from their customers. Greensource can provide this information to anyone interested.


As you may have noticed, a lot of these companies have chosen to use Ereco to provide this service to their customers.
Now, as much as we want to promote the recycling industry and reduce landfill...£34.50 per 20Kg of toners!!!

I would find it hard to justify this cost to my colleagues in accounts.

The carbon footprint of your mobile phone

The Grauniad have published this article that tries to quantify the carbon footprint of a mobile phone use.
Fairly interesting stuff on one level - I like the fact it breaks down the various stages of a mobile phones manufacture.
However, like all calculations in this impossibly complex field it could never take into account every circumstance and some of the withering responses from readers point out its various shortfalls.

One thing close to our hearts here is mobile phone reuse. The article points out that nearly 2.7 billion phones are in use worldwide (nearly 50% of humans use one apparently), however what could never be easily confirmed is how many of these phones are 2nd, 3rd or 4th hand.

This in our humble opinion must account for a sizeable proportion out there. Our industry frequently bandies about the figure that an estimated 90 million phones are lying redundant in draws across the UK alone!

What cannot be denied is that mobile communication and increasingly internet access from handheld devices is ubiquitous in our society and clearly all over the planet and this has to have an impact on our world