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CONSUMABLES
You have probably heard the term
‘circular economy’, but what exactly
does it mean for businesses?
Although we may not know it,
we are all part of the traditional
‘linear’ economy where materials
are made, used and thrown
away. However, as pressure on
the environment grows, linear
economics is reaching the end of
the line. In its place is the circular
economy, which aims to keep the
extraction of raw materials to a
minimum, while ensuring they stay
in circulation longer and can be
reused at the end of their lives.
There is a common belief that
the circular economy is just another
term for recycling. This is simply
not true. Although recycling is an
important part of sustainability, the
circular economy means designing
products for longevity so that
materials last longer and can be
repaired easily as well as reused.
It also includes trade-ins, sharing
models and service packages.
So why isn’t everyone doing it?
Often, executives will cite cost as
a factor preventing their company
from adopting a sustainable
business model. But in actual fact
cost is a major reason to bring
sustainability into the boardroom.
The circular economy prioritises
longer-lasting products, which in
turn encourages customer loyalty
and new business opportunities for
repair and maintenance services.
Research has shown that resource
efficiency measures could add
$2.9 trillion to the economy by
2030 – with returns on investment
of more than 10%. There are also
major job opportunities. By 2030,
the circular economy could create
over 200,000 jobs if businesses
continue to integrate it into their
long-term strategies.
Bad habits are hard to break
For the time being, however, the
problem of waste continues to rise.
Plastic production has increased
20 times over the past 50 years,
from 15 million tons in 1964 to
311 million tons in 2014. In the
EU, less than 25% of plastic waste
is recycled – with about 50% ending
up in landfill.
Almost every manufacturer
uses plastic in some form, but
some need more of it than others.
With an estimated 50,000 tons
of printer cartridges being sent
to landfill in Europe each year,
reducing waste has become a
pressing issue for the printer
industry. If you want to envisage
what this much waste looks like,
imagine over 34,000 fully-loaded
dump trucks unloading at once.
That is why many companies are
now looking for better ways to
manage this challenge.
One such is Lexmark, which
has prioritised long-life, reliability
and sustainability in its products.
Between 2004 and 2014, Lexmark
increased the amount of cartridge
material it reuses by 400%. This
material goes straight back into its
products. The CS72x printer, for
example, is made of 53% recycled
plastics. It also has a longer lasting
toner cartridge with a 67% higher
yield. Thanks to a zero-landfill policy
for the used cartridges it collects,
100% of the empty cartridges
returned to Lexmark are either
reused or recycled.
There are other innovative
steps companies can take to cut
out waste. For example, Lexmark
converts its waste paper to
make moulded pulp cushions for
packaging toner cartridges. This
alone saves the equivalent of more
than 12,000 trees a year.
The circular economy can help
companies retain more value from
the material, energy and labour
that goes into their products.
Integrating sustainable thinking into
your product strategy can optimise
the manufacturing process,
reduce environmental impact
and ultimately eliminate waste.
Although right now no one has all
the solutions, the circular economy
is undoubtedly one of them.
Danny Molhoek, general manager of Lexmark UK & Ireland, explains how
Lexmark is applying circular economy principles to reduce the environmental
impact of its printers
Thinking outside the box:
understanding the circular economy
Beware counterfeits
KYOCERA Document Solutions is
warning customers and partners of the
dangers of buying counterfeit supplies
following a significant increase in the
scale of the problem.
In a little over one month since the
start of April, KYOCERA has seized
fraudulent goods worth in excess of
€
5m compared to seizures of goods
worth
€
10m in the whole of the
preceding financial year.
Jonathon Robbins, consumables
& spares sales manager at KYOCERA
Document Solutions UK, said:
“Counterfeit imaging supplies are often
dangerous, environmentally unfriendly
and cheat consumers of the quality
they are entitled to expect from branded
consumables. It’s time to take the
fight to the criminals and stand up
for resellers and businesses who are
being duped into buying sub-standard
products, often in good faith, by
increasingly organised criminals.”
He warns that use of counterfeit
supplies can lead to a variety
of problems, from streaky grey
backgrounds, toner drop-off and uneven
print quality to damage to the printer
itself, all leading to a rise in the total
cost of ownership.
Robbins added: “We’re asking
businesses to buy only from an
approved KYOCERA consumables
partner or run the risk of supporting
organised crime and trafficking gangs.
Counterfeit products are increasingly
hard to spot, so we would recommend
resellers and customers to be
suspicious of consumables that do
not have KYOCERA labelling or have
an unrealistically low price. If in doubt,
our team is available to answer any
questions or verify suspect products.”
Danny Molhoek,
general manager,
Lexmark UK &
Ireland
