Officeworks has become Australia’s biggest cartridge recycler, recently reaching its five millionth ink and toner cartridge recycled through Planet Ark’s Cartridges 4 Planet Ark initiative. The milestone comes just in time for National Recycling Week, running between 10-to-16 November, and means the leading retailer is now responsible for one fifth of the entire number of cartridges collected by the initiative.
As a major partner of Planet Ark since 2005, Officeworks has collected 152,000 kilograms of recycled ink and toner cartridges, mobile phones, batteries and battery chargers through its in-store programs; Cartridges 4 Planet Ark, Mobile Muster, and BatteryBack. In 2012 Officeworks also became the first retailer in Australia to collect IT equipment (269,100kg to date) via Bring IT Back.
To support Planet Ark’s National Recycling Week, Officeworks will be educating team members and customers on adopting positive recycling habits, and encouraging everyone in the community to take advantage of its free recycling initiatives across Officeworks stores nationally.
Planet Ark CEO Paul Klymenko, says National Recycling Week aims to increase the environmental benefits of recycling at home, work, school and in the community, making retailers such as Officeworks important players in helping promote this message.
“We’re incredibly impressed with Officeworks’ latest green milestone; it’s a tremendous effort that couldn’t have been achieved without the dedication of their team members nationwide and support from the local communities.
“National Recycling Week is a campaign that every individual can be involved in, which is why we’ve developed our ‘Seven Secrets of Successful Recyclers’ [refer to notes]. This step-by-step guide shows how easy it is to minimise our impact on the environment across all areas of life,” Paul said.
Having been a finalist for the 2014 Victorian Premier Sustainability Award within the Large Business category for its Victorian stores, Officeworks will continue to ramp up recycling efforts across the country during National Recycling Week.
Even the kids can get involved with the Ollie Kids’ Club program happening in-store, featuring an array of free fun and educational activities focused on the importance of recycling.