Epson continues to lead way in eco-awareness and pioneering the recycling of used ink cartridges

While many companies may consider environmental awareness a trend or a marketing tactic, cartridge manufacturer Epson has taken it seriously for a long time.

Epson continues to address ecological-related issues and is committed to the relentless pursuit of innovation in compact, energy-saving, high-precision technologies to reduce environmental impact across all areas of operations.

"We do not follow the trend, we create the trend together with you," said Epson executive officer Akihiko Sakai.

The company's environmental strategy, called SE15, is a long-term vision that showcases Epson's vision for 2015 and outlines how the company plans to become indispensable to customers and society.

The 2015 environmental goals cover halving of life-cycle environmental impacts in key products by reducing CO2 emission, expansion of recyclable products and services, environmental applications of advanced technologies, legal and regulatory compliance and the fostering of an environmental community.

Epson, together with competitors including Canon, Brother, Dell, HP and Lexmark has run a joint initiative for collection and recycling called "Ink Cartridge Home Coming Project".

According to Epson, approximately 500,000 to 700,000 used ink cartridges are sent to a sorting facility, where they will be separated by brand. From there, the cartridges will be delivered to their respective manufacturers, who will take responsibility for carrying out the recycling process. Epson's policies promote biodiversity and their 3 R's (reduce, reuse, recycle).

Epson has also teamed up with its competitor, Canon, reducing CO2 emissions by using a consolidated transportation system. With this service, the products shipped to some sales outlets are consolidated with the products of Canon for delivery by the shipping company. Both companies choose and use the delivery lines.

Epson showcased eco products including energy-saving projectors and recycled materials used in new products, such as inkjet printers. Eighty percent of printer products are recycled to be new items, such as pens, bottles, packaging boxes and truck gear. Each year, the company collects approximately 11.5 million used inkjet cartridges from its inkjet cartridge home initiative and takes them to its recycling affiliates.

Epson and other IT companies strive to achieve their business profitability along with environmental-friendly initiatives. 123Refills is committed to an eco-friendly business and a recycling strategy that emphasizes on green practices. For more info on how 123Refills makes a difference visit: http://123refills.com/difference/difference.php