Singapore, 1 December 2011 - Five of the largest printer brands based in Singapore: Brother, Canon, Dell, Epson and Lexmark, with the support of the National Environment Agency (NEA) and National Library Board (NLB); have announced the launch of Singapore’s first-ever jointly funded printer brand ink and toner cartridge recycling initiative: Project Homecoming.

As the first international expansion of the world’s first joint printer brand recycling project (called “Ink Cartridge Satogaeri”) started in Japan three years ago, the project aims to encourage community awareness and environmental responsibility among Singaporeans through convenient cartridge recycling initiatives and education.

Project Homecoming will provide easily accessible cartridge recycling bins at 13 selected Singapore National Library branches. These are convenient locations where the public can deposit expended ink and toner cartridges from printers of any brand for recycling – even those of other brands not in the Project Homecoming partnership. The cartridges are then periodically collected for proper recycling.

“We aim to bring greater convenience to the public who are keen on making a personal contribution to recycling efforts across the island, and are proud to be working together as a team to jointly fund and promote the culture of recycling in Singapore,” said Andrew Koh, lead spokesperson for Project Homecoming and Senior Director and General Manager, Consumer Imaging & Information Products Division, Canon Singapore. “With strong support from the NEA and NLB, we will be able to give back to society through this initiative as socially responsible organisations, while driving home the message of environmental awareness through cartridge recycling as part of joint sustainability efforts from the printing industry.”

Joseph Hui, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NEA said, “We are proud to support Project Homecoming, which is an exemplary initiative by the five brands and the National Library Board to bring greater convenience to the community to recycle used printer cartridges so that they will not go to waste. Together with the support of the community, we hope to see more organisations promote waste reduction, reuse and recycling and to form partnerships where common sustainability objectives can be found.”

Recycling vendors of the joint initiative will collect the cartridges from the boxes and break down recyclable parts including plastics and metal. They will then make new products such as cartridges, pens and petroleum coke, a high-grade fuel. These recycling processes will help minimise waste, landfill and pollution while maximising the recovery of valuable resources.

Project Homecoming’s partners and supporting government agencies hope that the project will achieve a similar measure of success in Singapore, and that similar schemes will be replicated throughout the world in the future.