Equipment Disposal Centre Meets Euro Green Law

Edited by the Printingtalk editorial team Jul 26, 2004

Ricoh UK has announced the opening of a new 'green centre' to act as a central point for its customers to safely dispose of used office peripherals such as printers and copiers.

Ricoh UK has announced the opening of a new 'green centre' to act as a central point for its customers to safely dispose of used office peripherals such as printers, copiers and multi-functional devices and supplies.

The European Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive will become law next year and legislates for the environmentally friendly treatment and disposal of all used devices.

Although the directive holds manufacturers accountable for the disposal of used goods, businesses will no longer be able to add electrical and electronic devices to their regular waste collection.

With increasing numbers of businesses adopting green procurement strategies, the new centre provides a cost effective and convenient way for Ricoh customers to bring office equipment disposal in line with their other environmental policies.

Under the new scheme, customers can simply call Ricoh to arrange a suitable time for used devices to be collected from their premises.

From there, the machines will be taken to the centre where Ricoh said it covers all the costs of treatment and disposal, leaving the customer to cover only the cost of collection.

At the centre, end-of-life products are dismantled and the parts and raw materials are recycled or re-used.

In addition, some of the Ricoh parts may be used on-site to refurbish mono MFPs, which will then be made available for re-sale.

The refurbishment programme will be available to all Ricoh group companies in the UK by the end of 2004.

Ricoh said that the new centre is the first of its kind to be set up by a UK office peripherals manufacturer and as such, Ricoh's environmental manager Tom Wagland believes that many businesses will be quick to support the new programme.

"A large number of our customers are supporting environmentally-friendly policies across their businesses and the centre now allows them to extend this green approach to their equipment disposal.

Alongside our own used products, we will also collect and safely dispose of used printers, copiers and multifunctional devices of any other brand, enabling businesses to dispose of their used office peripherals in one convenient and cost effective way.".