What to do with your waste toner?
August 28, 2019
Rubén Barberà Toribio, of Spanish cartridge shredding business i2ma spoke to The Recycler about its newly found “Green Solution” to deal with waste toner powder.
i2ma have found a new solution to prepare waste toner powder in ceramics production. To be able to use the toner, it is necessary to change the physical characteristics and clean the powder from any other materials that could affect the ceramic production such as metals. This is done according to the need of the Ceramic Industry.
Rubén Barberà Toribio told The Recycler: “We found the process in our way to look for a green solution for the powder. The Ceramic Industry tested the powder and finally we found together the best way and the physical changes needed to introduce it into the production.”
Speaking with The Recycler earlier this year, Barberà spoke about the WEEE regulations and how it affects the industry. i2ma’s Director highlighted this as one of the key challenges facing the company, saying that “since the fifteenth of August [when the new legislation came into force], a company like ours shares the same challenges are the other companies in Europe.”
“[The WEEE legislation] is a very important milestone for our business,” Barberà continues, arguing that the new laws forces companies to become aware of the importance of recycling empty cartridges. “It has made producers improve their collection systems, and take responsibility for recycling” – a positive development, no doubt.
“It has also made administrations worry about following the stream of these materials to prevent them from going to landfill,” says Barberà. “Up to now, the only option for recycling was refilling, but we have taken recycling one step further, and we can recover close to 90 percent of the materials.”
Barberà further claimed that the WEEE legislation has pushed his company into achieving “a maximum level” of urgency and effort in its flow tracking and recycling rates, as the directive has placed the cartridge recycling process “at the same level as any other WEEE procedure.”
i2ma’s end of life solution for the WEEE categorised cartridges now also includes the difficult component of the toner powder and means there is a complete solution available. Barberà added that they have the capacity to deal with more toner powder also from industry members so anyone interested is free to contact Rubén Barberá through ruben@i2ma.es.
Categories : World Focus
Tags : End of Life i2ma Toner Powder
