Europe’s Circular Economy Is at Risk as Cartridge Remanufacturers Fight for Survival.

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Europe’s genuine OEM cartridge remanufacturing industry is under siege as four powerful
forces threaten to dismantle one of the EU’s most successful circular economy sectors.
1. Printer firmware updates, including HP’s Dynamic Security, continue to lock out remanufactured cartridges, 2. while a flood of low-cost imported Chinese counterfeit cartridges—many alleged to fall short of EU compliance requirements—drives prices to unsustainable levels. 3. At the same time, OEM-operated cartridge collection programs are tightening control over valuable empty OEM cores, depriving independent remanufacturers of the raw materials they need to survive. 4. Adding further pressure, the EU’s revised Waste Shipment Regulation and DIWASS reporting system risk burying cross-border cartridge reuse under costly bureaucracy. Critics argue that unless Europe cracks down on non-compliant imports, protects the right to remanufacture, ensures fair access to OEM cores, and removes regulatory barriers to reuse, the continent could watch its genuine remanufacturing industry disappear while undermining its own circular economy ambitions.

[Author]

August 11, 2026 at 11:21 AM