CARTRIDGE WASTE PROBLEM IN NEW ZEALAND

[Anonymous]

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<TD colSpan=2 height=30><SPAN class=ontStoryTitle><FONT color=blue>Cartridges add to waste problem in New Zealand</FONT></SPAN></TD></TR>
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<DIV class=ontStoryDate><FONT color=blue>More than 209 tons of computer printer cartridges are being dumped into New Zealand landfills each year.</FONT></DIV>
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<P xmlns:x=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel”><FONT color=blue>STUDIES shows that more than 1.2 million printer cartridges are disposed of in general household rubbish every year – the equivalent of the combined weight of two rugby teams every week.</FONT></P>
<P xmlns:x=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel”><FONT color=blue>”It’s time we took a long hard look at how we can reuse, recycle, or reduce the amount of computer consumables we use in New Zealand,” said Geoff Smith of Cartridge World New Zealand, a printer cartridge refilling company.</FONT></P>
<P xmlns:x=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel”><FONT color=blue>”The figures released in this research only take into account the average New Zealand household with a computer and printer,” Smith said. “How much more extensive is this problem if the number of printer cartridges disposed of by businesses are taken into account?”</FONT></P>
<P xmlns:x=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel”><FONT color=blue>Smith said the plastic used in printer cartridges takes significantly more than 100 years to biodegrade and the environmental impact in New Zealand of continuing to throw away so many cartridges every year must be untenable in the long term.</FONT></P>
<P xmlns:x=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel”><FONT color=blue>The disposal of printer cartridges is only a small part of the growing e-waste problem around the world. E-waste is an informal term used to describe electronic products that are nearing the end of their useful life.</FONT></P>
<P xmlns:x=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel”><FONT color=blue>According to Lyra Research, the leading global provider of research for the imaging industry, almost one billion toner and inkjet printer cartridges were shipped worldwide in 2003, and they forecast this will growth to 1.14 billion by 2006.</FONT></P></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[Author]

April 22, 2004 at 11:05 AM