View from the Labs
A new printer comes wrapped in plastic, while its manuals, cartridges and driver discs also come in their own bags. Should manufacturers be doing more to cut down on waste?
At least 14 million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean every year, while microplastic particles have been found in almost every ecosystem on the planet – most recently in the Arctic. If you’ve ever owned a printer, there’s a chance you’ve had a hand in it. Printers are made mostly of plastic. They use plastic toners, cartridges and other consumables. And in the case of lasers, most even print by melting tiny bits of plastic onto the page.
I’m sure that most PC Pro readers are responsible about their actual technology waste, but something else struck me about the 12 new printers I received for this group test. After unpacking them all, I’d filled a bulging carrier bag with plastic bags, tapes, wraps, caps and various other disposable bits.
Disposable is a key word here. While many plastics can be recycled, the UK’s kerbside programmes struggle with the sheer amount and variety of the stuff. We’ve all seen high-profile stories about straightforward plastic items such as bottles having to be burned, buried or shipped overseas. What are councils to do with oddities like a toner-tainted A4 plastic sheet, expanded polystyrene packing, or even empty shrinkwrap?
This doesn’t feel like where we ought to be in 2022. Even 15 years ago, forward-thinking manufacturers were using “eggbox” cardboard packing inside their boxes. Today, most brands still use plastic padding, and every printer still comes wrapped in a plastic bag. Typically, its various flaps and platens are protected by plastic tape and foam, while its manuals, cartridges and driver discs usually each come in their own bag.
To grasp the absurdity of it all, you need only consider the mains power cable.
Open up its plastic bag and you’ll usually find it protected by a little plastic hat. Anyone who’s ever trodden on an upturned plug will understand that its prongs fear no man and no thing, and are entirely invulnerable to damage.
So what’s to be done? Printers are big, often heavy, and no doubt shipped in bulk. When they leave the warehouse they need to withstand being chucked around a Mercedes Vito, and eventually hefted to your door. Some degree of robust packaging is a must, but need it really involve so much plastic? Paper-based tapes are available. Scrunched paper, or shaped cardboard can absorb shock or hold fragile parts apart. And does everything need its own bag?
Ah, but plastic is cheap, and nobody is forcing printer makers to abandon it. Maybe it’s down to us to apply more pressure, but in the meantime don’t just give up and shove everything in the bin. Check what your council will take. Send everything else back to the seller, or look for an electrical retailer or supermarket that offers recycling.
The more plastic waste they have to deal with, the more they’ll want to be rid of the stuff too.
“Plastic is cheap, and nobody is forcing printer makers to abandon it. Maybe it’s down to us to apply more pressure”