Lexmark, a leader in circular economy, has championed remanufacturing initiatives since our inception over 30 years ago. These efforts have included our hardware and supplies research, development and manufacturing activities. The initial work incorporated purchased post-consumer recycled plastics in our hardware. At the same time, our Lexmark Cartridge Collection Program (LCCP) began reclaiming materials and employing a closed-loop process to produce post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic. Beginning in 2010, Lexmark began manufacturing its own PCR plastic resin from reclaimed supplies. Lexmark continues to evaluate new ways to further employ the circular economy business model. This has led Lexmark to participate in numerous research efforts, external councils and trade associations focused on the circular economy.
As a founding member of the European Remanufacturing Council (CER) we collaborate with other businesses to advocate for policy changes to mainstream remanufacturing within product lifecycles. CER aims to triple Europe's remanufacturing sector value to over $100 billion by 2030.
Lexmark prioritizes planned durability, intentionally engineering and rigorously testing hardware devices to more than seven years of average usage.1 Extended device life conserves finite resources, reduces landfill waste and lowers carbon emissions. For more information on Lexmark's product design for extended life, click here.
Lexmark collaborates extensively with stakeholders, partners, industry groups and governing bodies to integrate circular economy framework into product design. Lexmark engages in sustainability initiatives and partnerships with industry leaders, fostering internal projects that reduce waste and promote sustainable resource use across our global operations.
Our commitment to remanufacturing is recognized by prominent supporters of sustainable manufacturing. Our endeavors most recently resulted in an EcoVadis Platinum medal, the highest level of this extra-financial assessment. EcoVadis has grown to become the world’s largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings, creating a global network of more than 130,000 rated companies and their supply chains to assess their performance in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and governance. Lexmark is in the top 1% of all companies assessed and a clear leader in our sector. Since 2014, Lexmark has consistently received high EcoVadis ratings.
Lexmark has been recognized with Manufacturing Leadership awards in sustainability leadership and received the ISRI 2020 Design for Recycling Award for our toner cartridge design and recycling. See more about Lexmark awards and recognitions here.
To assist our innovative efforts in remanufacturing and to promote a circular business model, the European Union Framework Program for Research and Development awarded Lexmark funding for three projects, C-SERVEES, DiCiM and CE-RISE, to build circular economy solutions for the global marketplace. For more information on Lexmark's contributions to the C-SERVEES project, click here.
The CE-RISE project involving 22 partners across 12 countries with a €7.6 million EU budget, focuses on maximizing the use of secondary raw materials (SRMs) and utilizing IoT and AI approaches. CE-RISE will foster a dynamic ecosystem geared toward prolonging the use of materials in the economy while Lexmark will contribute to pilot studies, create prototypes and gather information for a Digital Product Passport (DPP) which will enable the traceability of materials in the supply chain. The eventual aim will be to provide stakeholders with a better understanding of the green credentials of electronic products and educate the industry on how to preserve important raw materials throughout the reuse, repair and recycling of these items. For more information on Lexmark's contributions to the CE-RISE project, click here.
Lexmark is one of 12 consortium partners from nine countries in the €6 million EU budget DiCiM project. DiCiM is dedicated to utilizing digital tools to accelerate circular economy business models. The project will develop integrated digital solutions that make use of Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning (ML) based Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, Image Processing and Augmented Reality (AR).
As the only printer manufacturer participating in DiCiM, Lexmark (specifically Lexmark Belgium, Lexmark España and Lexmark Hungary) will assist the DiCiM project with IoT monitoring and identifying the key parameters in real time. This will include implementing an open access digital platform and demonstrating the capability of the printers for enabling tracking, tracing, and condition monitoring. For more information on Lexmark’s contributions to the DiCiM project, click here.
Lexmark offers a comprehensive digital passport for our product lines, providing key environmental information to support informed and sustainable consumer decisions and in support of the circular economy. The Lexmark Digital Passport includes product buying guides, product lifecycle analysis reports, software upgrade information, material selections and details on repair and recycling options.
Lexmark supports the European Commission’s call to action in Annex III of the European Strategy for Plastics. Lexmark is one of the initial 70 companies and businesses voluntarily pledging to use more recycled plastics in Europe and to ensure by 2025, 10 million tons of recycled plastics find their way into new products.
Lexmark is an industry leader in the use of reclaimed plastic with 43% of the plastic content, by mass, across all Lexmark designed and branded toner cartridges manufactured, derived from postconsumer sources, including our own LCCP closed-loop process. Of the LCCP reclaimed plastic used, 83% is from remanufacturing reuse, with 9% from the LCCP PCR feed stream and 8% from purchased PCR resin. Lexmark’s goal is to increase the use of reclaimed plastic in our Lexmark designed and branded toner cartridges through the PCR and reuse processes by 50% by 2025.
Over 90% of the materials by weight used in our Lexmark designed and branded hardware products are recyclable.2 Today, 100% of our total product offering contains some PCR content with almost 70% of the models containing over 30% PCR content. Continual reuse of recycled materials greatly reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills. Click here to learn more about Lexmark's use of PCR and click here for usage by product model
Lexmark continues to explore the recovery of precious metals to enable clean, domestic recycling of sorted electronic waste through the chemical extraction of precious metals (primarily copper and gold). Recovering valuable materials from end-of-life devices and recycling them into new products expands Lexmark’s leadership in the circular economy movement.
Lexmark employs data analytics to provide real-time visibility into product locations and conditions, enabling continuous performance monitoring. With over one million managed devices across 2,000 global locations and weekly analysis of 10 terabytes of data, maximizing the product lifespan offers customers a chance to operate more sustainability.
Having access to real-time data enables detailed tracking of devices and supplies to ensure efficient use of Lexmark’s long-life products. Blockchain technology enhances material optimization throughout the circular economic process (origination, manufacturing, recycling, transportation and use phase). Artificial intelligence (AI) may also be able to predict product performance, reliability and lifecycle analysis.
Lexmark integrates new and reclaimed components to minimize environmental impact in its Corporate Cartridge product line guided by zero waste principles and circular economy ideals. The Corporate Cartridge closes the loop through the incorporation of components returned via the LCCP.
Cartridges returned to the LCCP are disassembled, evaluated for reuse then selected and incorporated into the production system. Plastic is recovered and pelletized into PCR content for integration into new components. Reclaimed PCR plastic is qualified in over 145 Lexmark components at a level up to 100% PCR plastic.
Lexmark's efforts through the LCCP have redirected over 165,000 metric tons of material from landfills since 1991. In 2023, 36% of the total Lexmark branded and designed toner cartridges shipped worldwide were returned through the LCCP with higher rates in some regions. The United States continues to average approximately 50% return rates and we estimate the industry average collection rates to be 20-30%.
Hardware devices returned to Lexmark are processed and assessed, then remanufactured for reuse. If not reused, parts are harvested for the refurbishment process. Lexmark works with recyclers to reclaim parts that can be used to refurbish printers, which keeps the printers in service longer and reduces the need to recycle used hardware.
Lexmark is committed to waste and pollution reduction through collaboration with organizations supporting the circular economy business model. Company-wide innovation has led to the discovery of reuse and recycle techniques novel to our industry. Lexmark strives to minimize waste while maximizing resource efficiency through remanufacturing and empowering our customers to protect natural resources by joining our efforts. Click here to learn more about Lexmark’s Product Sustainability.