— Industry-first program now conducts collection operations in 23 countries —
TOKYO, December 9, 2009—Canon Inc. and Canon Marketing Japan Inc. today announced that 2010 will mark the 20th anniversary of the introduction of the Canon Toner Cartridge Recycling Program, a zero-landfill program in which every component of the used cartridges that the company collects is reused, recycled or recovered. First launched in 1990, the program now carries out collection operations in 23 countries worldwide and, as of the end of June 2009, has collected approximately 220,000 metric tons of used toner cartridges.
The 20th anniversary logo
Toner cartridge collection
In 1982, Canon created the world's first personal copying machines to incorporate replaceable all-in-one toner cartridges. The toner cartridges were then adapted for use in laser beam printers and rapidly gained in popularity amid increases in sales volume. Along with these developments, Canon, as a result of the company's awareness of such environmental issues as reducing waste and the effective use of resources, and in accordance with its corporate philosophy of kyosei—living and working for the common good—independently introduced the Toner Cartridge Recycling Program. The initiative, launched on a global scale by a single company with no cost to customers, marked a watershed moment within the industry.
The return program now operates in 23 countries worldwide, supported by four global recycling bases: Canon Ecology Industry Inc. in Japan; Canon Dalian Business Machines, Inc. in China; Canon Virginia, Inc. in the United States of America; and Canon Bretagne S.A.S. in France.
Canon toner cartridges make possible closed-loop recycling through a product design that assumes recycling after use, facilitating the reuse of components and the recycling of plastic for new products realizing equivalent levels of quality. As a result, since 2003, all four of Canon's recycling bases continue to achieve a 100% resource recovery for zero landfill waste and, as of the end of June 2009, the company has reduced the use of new resources by approximately 140,000 metric tons and CO2 emissions by approximately 370,000 metric tons. These activities have earned Canon industry recognition in the form of a number of prestigious industry awards, beginning with the Grand Prize at Japan's 1st Global Environmental Awards in 1992.
| Year | Development/Achievement |
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| 1990 |
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| 2010 |
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(Unit 1,000s of tons) Approx. 220,000 tons
Four global recycling bases achieve a 100% recycling and recovery rate (zero landfill waste)
