Circular Economy: Material Flows and Sustainable Materials – Practical Applications

3.16

HP Ink Cartridges and Plastic Recycling in Haiti

In this final step on plastics we’ll take a closer, critical look at HP’s work on the return and recycling of cartridges, integrating post-consumer plastic waste.

The HP Planet Partners program is HP’s global, voluntary product return and recycling service for HP ink and toner cartridges. The cartridges are taken apart, the plastic is shredded and combined with recycled plastics from Haiti and elsewhere. According to HP, 80 percent of new ink cartridges being produced have ocean-bound plastic and post-consumer plastic added to the mix.

The collaboration between HP and the First Mile Coalition on ocean-bound plastics has created 1,100 local jobs in Haiti and supported the local community in other ways. The video below from HP summarizes their work in this area.

In their 2025 Sustainable Impact Report, referring to numbers from 2024, HP stated they incorporated 48,840 tonnes of post-consumer recycled plastic into its products, which makes up 26 percent of the plastics used in 2024.

HP’s work on sustainability and creating closed loops could be criticized on several levels:

• Greenwashing: Although HP is making a real difference for people working with recycling in Haiti, the initiative is small in comparison with what HP could do, both when it comes to recycling and social impact.
• Designing for Recycling: Is the ink cartridge and toner design with a return scheme the best solution for minimizing waste and resource use, while at the same time maximizing recycled materials? One example of a different solution is Epson’s EcoTank printer that uses refillable plastic bottles for ink, which according to Epson saves both money and resources.
• Short Life-spans: The short life-span of printers and cartridges is not in any way unique for HP, but if you really want to create a closed-loop, circular business, the products should be easy to repair, made to last, and at the end-of-life they should be recyclable.

In the video here another example of recycling of ocean-bound plastic is highlighted, connected to OceanCycle’s certification program. HP is not a part of the OceanCycle program, but has used other certification platforms for their work.

Further reading, learning and references

HP – HP’s Ocean-Bound Plastics Initiative: Transforming Waste into Sustainable Technology https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/hp-computers-made-with-oceanbound-plastics

Ramase Lajan https://haitirecycling.org/how.html

© Daniel Mossberg, CEMUS, Uppsala University and Sonali Phadke, studio Alternatives and Stephanie Foote