Singapore Printer Brands Launch First-Ever Joint Recycling Initiative - Project Homecoming

Brother, Canon, Dell, Epson and Lexmark join hands to raise public environmental awareness through Singapore's first joint cartridge recycling project

Singapore, 1 December 2011 – Five major 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 joint funded and managed printer brand ink and toner cartridge recycling initiative: Project Homecoming.

As the first international expansion of a successful 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 NLB libraries where the public can deposit used 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."

Elaine Ng, Chief Executive Officer of NLB said, "The National Library Board is pleased to participate in Project Homecoming, the first-of-its-kind initiative outside Japan and in Singapore. This partnership allows NLB to contribute and reinforce our commitment to environment sustainability for the greater good of future generations. Through our network of public libraries, we hope to bring the message of the importance of recycling closer to the community and foster a green mindset. We also encourage our library users to play their part in protecting the environment."

Recycling vendors of the joint initiative will collect the cartridges from the boxes and break down recyclable parts including plastics and metal. 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.

Click here for participating NLB's libraries
About Project Homecoming
Project Homecoming is an ink and toner cartridge recycling initiative that is led, managed and jointly funded by five brands - Brother, Canon, Dell, Epson and Lexmark. Together, these brands aim to make it easier for the public to recycle their used ink and toner cartridges. This is the first time globally outside Japan that these five brands have come together to initiate a joint recycling project. Through this initiative, the brands aim to contribute to the community as socially responsible organisations by educating and encouraging the public on recycling while cultivating a green mindset.

About Canon Singapore Pte Ltd
Canon is a global leader in photographic and digital imaging solutions. Canon Singapore Pte Ltd is the headquarters for South & Southeast Asia driving sales, marketing and service strategies. Besides handling the domestic market, the company leads 18 other countries including subsidiaries in India, Malaysia, Thailand and a representative office in Vietnam. The parent company Canon Inc has a global network of more than 200 companies and employs more than 160,000 people worldwide. It is dedicated to the advancement in technology and innovation and commits about 10% of its total revenue each year to R&D. Canon is consistently one of the top few companies to earn the most number of patents over the last 18 years. As a Fortune Global 500 company, Canon is guided by its kyosei philosophy that focuses on living and working together for the common good.
More information is available at www.canon.com.sg

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