Students seek reuse of printer cartridges
A labelling scheme for recycled printer cartridges should be set up to encourage more people to use environment-friendly products and boost recycling, a students' group says.
The call from the Green Student Council came as used cartridges pile up at schools that are finding it hard to persuade recyclers to take them.
The council says a labelling scheme similar to those in Japan and northern Europe would raise consumer confidence in recycled products and reduce pressure on landfills, where about 2 million cartridges are dumped each year.
Project manager Jasper Ip Chi-man said some users had the wrong impression that recycled cartridges - which are cleaned, refilled with ink and quality tested - were unreliable.
He said the US and Canada had laws requiring companies to collect and recycle their cartridges.