Have you ever wondered why you can’t see any leftover ink on recycled paper? Other than a hint of yellow, you will never find any residual content on the paper. This is because the printed toner is separated from the paper before it is recycled through a process called “deinking.”
Unfortunately, since there is currently no existing technology capable of recycling “deinked” toner it is either burned or buried in landfills—all 200,000 tones of it every year!
Fortunately, companies like Ricoh have created proactive solutions to combat these environmental shortcomings. According to Ricoh’s website, “To lessen the environmental impacts of toner, Ricoh has been developing biomass toner.” Using this new biomass toner as a raw material for resin, which accounts for 80% of toner waste, will help sustain petroleum levels and reduce CO2 emissions created from the combustion of used toner. While still unrecyclable, the new toner waste being burned or buried in landfills is less toxic than current toners.
Ricoh’s biomass toner is currently only available in Japan, but this development is a promising step toward for recyclable and biodegradable toner in our printers, copiers and MFPs. Sustain your “go-green” awareness by visiting Applied’s blog every week to get the most up-to-date green news!
