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| Businesses, governments, customers and the public are increasingly interested in responsible reuse and disposal of used electronics. Products that are no longer required by their original users can sometimes be reused by others. When there is no further use for the product, materials may be recycled for use in other products. Materials that are not recycled must be disposed of properly. Product design is important, since design affects the ability to reuse or recycle products economically at end-of-life. (See Design for Environment [HP USA | English].)
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Many customers are concerned that product reuse and recycling are conducted in a manner that protects users’ personal information, conserves resources and minimizes environmental impacts. We strive to address these concerns in our reuse and recycling options, and we apply the same standards and policies wherever we do business, ensuring responsible recycling1 or disposal wherever it occurs.
HP has recycled computer and printer hardware since 1987. Our end-of-life programs benefit our customers and the environment as well as our business. In addition to the millions of products that we recycle, we collect approximately 2.5 million hardware products each year that are refurbished, resold or donated.
Many countries are adopting or proposing legislation requiring responsible end-of-life product management, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. Implementation of the European Union Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive began in 2005, requiring manufacturers to ensure that customers can recycle electronic products at the end of the products’ useful lives. The variety of legislative approaches presents a considerable challenge. We participate in the legislative processes through our public policy activities to support laws and regulations that promote cost-effective end-of-life programs globally. (See Public policy: Electronics recycling [HP USA | English].)
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1In this section, “recycling” refers to the processing of waste electronic devices and consumable items for recovery of materials. The return to use of complete electronic products is described as “reuse.”
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Customers are increasingly asking for a variety of options to help them manage their unwanted computer hardware. HP offers several options for customers to return hardware equipment when they no longer have a use for it.
Asset recovery. As one of the world's top IT leasing companies, HP handles the disposition of hundreds of thousands of hardware devices yearly for companies of every size. Commercial and public sector customers can either sell working equipment for a fixed price or return it to HP for auditing, testing, refurbishment and resale or for recycling, as appropriate. HP shares the proceeds with the customer. Data security is a major concern for companies disposing of their equipment, and HP has extensive experience in this area. HP ensures the secure removal of customers’ data and removes identifying information such as labels and tags. The process also includes destroying any customer documentation, paperwork, CDs and floppy disks that may have been inadvertently included in the returned equipment. Any faulty drives from which data cannot be removed are sealed, inventoried, and sent to an approved HP facility for destruction. Customers receive a certificate of destruction by asset serial number.
Leasing. HP’s Leasing Program offers customers an alternative to owning and managing used equipment at the end of its useful life. Customers simply return their leased equipment to HP at the end of the lease period and HP manages safe and responsible reuse or recycling.
Remarketed/refurbished products. HP helps extend the life of computer hardware through our repair and refurbishment programs. These programs reduce environmental impacts and make IT equipment accessible to more people. Our refurbished hardware product programs enable customers who do not need the latest technology to purchase returned equipment, which may include current generation products or older products that meet customer requirements.
Refurbished products come from various sources, including customer returns and cancelled orders, products damaged during shipping, overstocks, demonstration and trial units, asset recovery, and lease returns. These products are carefully inspected, refurbished or remanufactured, re-boxed and re-sold with an HP warranty. HP offers remarketed products on most product lines, including printers, personal computers, monitors and even entire data centers.
Remarketed products offer a high quality, low cost solution with an HP warranty. For some applications, the latest technology is needed. But in other cases, a business may simply need to maintain or extend a proven, stable environment. Some organizations, for example software developers and schools, may require equipment temporarily. In these situations, remarketed products may be the most cost-effective solution.
Trade-in. HP provides customers with the option of trading in used equipment from any manufacturer when they upgrade to new HP technology. Customers receive credit for the value of their old products and the used equipment is either sold on the secondary market or recycled through our environmentally responsible recycling processes. We accommodate customer needs for data removal and provide an inventory for their asset management reporting. Program details vary by country and region. See the website identified below for information on the programs in various countries.
Find information on all product return options at: http://h41111.www4.hp.com/globalcitizenship/uk/en/environment/recycle/hardware.html
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Why HP exclusively sells original print cartridges |
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HP produces print cartridges intended for single-use. Our R&D teams have determined that due to the highly technical and sensitive nature of cartridge parts, remanufactured cartridges do not deliver the quality and reliability customers expect from HP products.
Testing conducted by QualityLogic, one of the world’s largest independent quality assurance organizations, has demonstrated the benefit of HP products compared to remanufactured cartridges across an array of factors such as premature failure, consistent page yields and print quality.
HP considers environmental factors as well as product performance. A life cycle assessment performed by First Environment, an independent environmental management services provider, determined that an original HP LaserJet print cartridge recycled through HP Planet Partners has no greater total environmental impact than a remanufactured cartridge.
HP supports the rights of third-party remanufacturers to compete in the marketplace. We recognize that they occupy a distinct market niche, and we do not design print cartridges to prevent remanufacturing. We believe, however, that all remanufacturers should take responsibility for end-of-life management of the cartridges they collect.
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HP has been recycling since 1987. Today, recycling services are available in more than 40 countries, regions and territories.
In 2005, HP collected and recycled more than 140 million pounds (approximately 64,000 tonnes) of used products. This brings the cumulative total since 1987 to more than 750 million pounds (340,000 tonnes), which brings us closer to our goal to recycle a billion pounds (450,000 tonnes) by 2007.
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Availability of HP return and recycling programs* |
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Total cumulative recycling [Million pounds] |
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Total recycling – computer and hardware and supplies combined** [Million pounds] |
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| **Hardware recycling data from Europe/Middle East/Africa and HP LaserJet recycling data are calendar year. The remaining data is based on the HP fiscal year. |
Product take-back metric (% of sales) |
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HP reports annually the total weight of electronic products and supplies that it recycled. Stakeholders have expressed interest in other reuse/recycling metrics. One type of metric compares generally the number of product units reused and recycled with the number of similar product units sold. Calculating the recycling and reuse rates for electronics products and consumable items versus the weight of products sold (based on the original sales year of the product) is complex. There is great variation in the time between product sale and product return, because product lifetimes vary depending on product type and customer usage. Owners may delay returning equipment after they no longer use it, storing it for years before it is returned. Finally, our measurement is complicated by the fact that we take back hardware equipment produced by any manufacturer. Therefore, the equipment we receive in a year represents sales from a number of different years and from a variety of manufacturers. Experience with this type of metric needs to be gained to determine if it is feasible and provides useful information.
After evaluating several take-back studies performed by the U.S. EPA, universities and HP, we have developed the following initial methodology:
1. Hardware products returned for refurbishment and reuse tend to be two to four years old. HP calculates a ratio of the weights of hardware products returned for refurbishment against our product sales for the yearly average of the preceding three years.
2. Hardware products from HP's recycling programs tend to be five to nine years old, with a small percentage being younger than five years and some exceeding 10 years and older. HP calculates a ratio of the weights of recycled hardware products returned against our product sales for the yearly average of the previous five through nine years.
3. Consumable items tend to be one year old or less. HP calculates a ratio of the weights of recycled consumables against our consumable sales for a representative 12-month period.
4. The recycling and hardware refurbishment ratios are combined to provide an overall comparison to our product sales.
HP’s combined recycling and reuse rate for fiscal year 2005, calculated according to the above methodology, was 10.3% of sales. Due to the complexity of this calculation, our metric may not be comparable with those of other companies.
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Vendor assessment
| We assess vendors to verify that they recycle products in an environmentally acceptable manner. We require recycling vendors to follow environmental, health, safety, social responsibility and business conduct standards, as identified in our Hardware Recycling standards, the Electronics Industry Code of Conduct and the HP Printing Supplies Recycling Policy.
We conduct supplier site inspections, including interviews with management and employees, and review:
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- Records and program documentation
- Shipping documents and identification of the next vendors downstream
- Management programs, goals and governance processes
- Regulatory inspections, notifications and notices
- Site security and protection of HP and customer assets
- Site environmental, health and safety programs
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| In 2005, we recycled approximately 32,000 tonnes (70 million pounds) of hardware in Europe, 1,700 tonnes (nearly four million pounds) in Asia and 18,000 tonnes (40 million pounds) in the Americas. |
WEEE and the European Recycling Platform |
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The European Union’s Directive for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is currently being introduced into national law. Anticipating the need for a competitive, effective, pan-European recycling market, HP established the European Recycling Platform (ERP) with Braun, Electrolux and Sony in 2004. The ERP sets standards and contract conditions and conducts audits to ensure conditions are applied.
By the end of 2005, ERP had more than 40 members across Europe and had been approved by several countries as a ‘collective compliance scheme.’ Its contractors were already operating a take-back service in two countries (Ireland and Austria). ERP is currently expanding services to more countries across the EU (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the UK) as these countries implement the WEEE Directive.
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Case study: HP Australia Partners with local and state government in a consumer hardware recycling program |
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In July 2005, HP Australia launched a free computer recycling pilot in the state of Victoria. The project, known as Byteback, was officially opened by the Minister for Environment, John Thwaites. It aims to divert end-of-life computer equipment from landfills to environmentally responsible recycling. All metal, plastic and components are recovered and recycled, and any components requiring special treatment are handled appropriately. In the first four months, Byteback collected 78 tonnes of computer equipment for recycling. Mr. Thwaites commended HP for its leadership: “Hewlett-Packard has shown other manufacturers of computer equipment that they can take action to provide cost-effective avenues for responsible disposal for the benefit of the public and the environment.”
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| HP’s Planet Partners program offers free return and recycling programs for HP LaserJet and inkjet print cartridges, covering 87% and 80% respectively of the worldwide market for those products. Customers can easily return used HP print cartridges for recycling by following instructions in the packaging, on our website – www.hp.com/recycle – or by phone. They can use a range of methods to return cartridges, including our postage-paid envelopes, labels and bulk collection boxes. The map shows where these services are available. |
Planet Partners cartridge recycling statistics
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% of market covered by Planet Partners |
Tonnes returned and recycled in 2005 |
Tonnes of plastic recovered in 2005 |
Cartridges recycled since program inception |
| LaserJet |
87%
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11,130
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3,326
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92 million
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| Inkjet |
80%
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442
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250
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20 million
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In 2005, more than 11,500 tonnes (25.5 million pounds) of HP LaserJet and inkjet print cartridges were returned and recycled through Planet Partners. More than 112 million HP LaserJet and inkjet cartridges have been returned since the program began, representing more than 103,900 tonnes (229 million pounds).
No HP print cartridges returned through Planet Partners are sent to landfills. They are put through a recycling operation that recovers a majority of the cartridge plastics and metals for processing into materials used in new products. All remaining materials are incinerated, with energy recovery when possible.
More than 3,500 tonnes (7.8 million pounds) of plastics were recovered and recycled into material that has been used to make new HP products as well as plastic trays, clothes hangers, shoe soles and wire spools. A new application using recycled cartridge plastics to make roof tiles was introduced in the European market in 2005.
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Case study: HP partnership to increase recycling awareness |
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In China, HP has joined forces with two non-governmental organizations – Global Village of Beijing and the Jane Goodall Institute – Roots and Shoots Shanghai and Beijing – in a print cartridge recycling program called ‘Cartridges for Dragon Recycling’. The initiative, launched in 2005, provides communities in Beijing and Shanghai a simple, convenient and environmentally responsible way to return end-of-life printer cartridges free of charge. The program aims to prevent inappropriate disposal that may have an impact on the environment.
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Number of HP print cartridges returned and recycled worldwide, 1992-2005*** [Millions] |
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| ***Includes cartridges returned by customers and cartridges from HP internally. 2005 figures are based on year-end estimates. |
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HP LaserJet print cartridge recycling, 2005 |
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HP inkjet print cartridge recycling, 2005**** |
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| ****Energy recovery refers to a process that recovers heat for a useful purpose (external to the incinerator), such as power generation or central heating. Controlled combustion refers to a rotary kiln incinerator with a high temperature combustion chamber for the contained destruction of chemical compounds. |
Goal for 2007 |
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- Recycle 1 billion pounds of electronic products and supplies by 2007. Progress: To date, HP has recycled more than 750 million pounds since 1987.
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Versione stampabile
