The European Commission has confirmed that third-party remanufacturers of printer ink cartridges must comply with e-waste regulations, and that consumers should look for the ‘WEEE’ logo to be sure of this.
This means that (hopefully) there will be fewer old printer cartridges ending up in landfill sites, with more being reused or recycled, which is obviously good news for the planet at large.
The EC clarified that third-party remanufacturers of printer cartridges (who refill and resell cartridges) are bound to the same legal obligations as original (OEM) cartridge makers, and must comply with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive.
Look for the logo
In other words, these firms have to report and pay for the take-back of waste from the cartridges which they’re selling, and consumers should look for the ‘WEEE’ logo on products to be safe in the knowledge that the cartridges they’re buying are green-friendly and compliant with environmental standards (whether these are original ink cartridges, or third-party refills).
The European Commission confirmed this was the case in response to questioning by EuroVAprint, a non-profit group of all major manufacturers of imaging equipment in Europe.
Sara Rodriguez Martinez, President of EuroVAprint, commented: “Printer and copier manufacturers have been delivering consistently impressive energy efficiency results with positive environmental impact during recent years.
“We are very pleased that the Commission supports this effort by confirming that manufacturers of not only new but also any third party-cartridges placed on the EU market under their own trademark need to follow the same rules.”
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