Laurielle Reid
Christopher Quintanilla
Jason Rohde
St. John's University
Charles Wankel
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"We make sure that our cartridges don't just live one life time, they live multiple life times. We don’t want them making it into a land fill". This quote by Stacey Chimenti highlights Canon USA's aim to reduce waste and create a more sustainable manufacturing processes by implementing their printer cartage recycling system. With their partnerships, Eco-friendly organizations and their extensive printer cartridge recycling program Canon USA helps spread the message of responsible consumption and production in all the communities they reach.
"We want our customers to know they can bring back a product once it’s done and that we will find the best way possible to recycle it.” This idea is best exemplified by the Cartridge Recycling Program initiated by Canon for its customers. For this process customers are urged to return their cartridges where they are utilized to their full capacity. Instead of disposing the returned cartridges, there is a system where they are broken down to the smallest pieces and are used in different areas of productions. The system is so effective in breaking down these materials because no plastic is disposed into the garbage after this cycle. In essence, all the components and reused and converted to new products.
Living up to environmental standards and aiming to preserve the health of society and the livelihood of our surroundings. People and the environment are the biggest inspiration for this project because they are considered every step of the way to prevent them from being harmed by effects of improper disposal of the cartridges.
Canon USA's recycling program is the type of program that for-profit business should strive to implement. The program not only helps to save and protect the environment but also raising Canon's brand image and can even cut expenses. Through their program they ask that their consumers give them old, used cartridges for them to recycle to reuse all components they can and to safely dispose of any pieces they are unable to reuse or recycle. The main benefits of this program would be the reuse and recycling of potentially harmful materials or materials that are harvesting in ways that damage the environment while also being able to use those recycled parts to save money on the cost of materials or selling the scrap pieces to recycling companies. This is the ideal model for an environmentally friendly publicly traded company as they are not only helping to protect the environment and reduce their environmental footprint but also they are doing their duty to shareholders to help make a larger profit whether through the sale of the materials or through the reuse to cut costs.
The business benefit mainly focuses on Canon saving money on raw materials by using recycled plastic and metal from old cartridges and they sell any excess material they have to to other companies for a profit. This recycling program provides Canon with a good relationship with its customers which helps to develop a better brand. This will also result in more profits because customers feel more comfortable since doing business with Canon helps the environment and they contribute to this very efficient system to save what is of vital importance to them. The company also benefits because it is rebuilding its image and penetrating its focus else where, it is not reaping all the profits, Cannon is giving back to the community and helping in every way possible to sustain the environment and the people that live in it.
Through their recycling program they breakdown copier and printer cartridges focusing on making sure that all pieces and components that can be, are reused while any pieces that are unable to be recycled or reused are disposed of properly and safely. Through this recycling program they help protect the environment in two ways. First this program helps to cut down on the need to harvest new resources and materials. Some of these practices to harvest materials such as copper strip mining or the processing of plastic not only use up non renewable resources but also harm the environment by releasing chemicals into the environment or destroying the natural landscape. Secondly by making sure that all the components of the cartridges are recycled or disposed of safely they help protect the environment stopping the components from reaching landfills. Heavy metals and plastics in landfills can leach into the surrounding water table which can lead to unsafe water or to the poisoning of natural wildlife and to possibly destroying the delicate balance of the food chain through bio-magnification. The recycling program fits responsible consumption and production perfectly as through the program they recycle and reuse every part they can while also reducing the amount of potentially harmful materials in landfills.
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Canon U.S.A., Inc. is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business, and industrial digital imaging solutions to the United States and to Latin America and the Caribbean markets.
