The six major printer manufacturers (Brother, Canon, Dell, Epson, HP and Lexmark) that jointly promote a comprehensive ink cartridge recycling system ‘Ink Cartridge Satogaeri Project’, and the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) have entered into an agreement to support the Satoyama Initiative.

The ‘Ink Cartridge Satogaeri Project’ aims to offer an important step in helping customers make more environmentally-friendly choices in their daily lives and ultimately contribute to a recycling-oriented society through the collection and recycling of used ink cartridges.

‘Satogaeri’ means ‘return to the village’, or back to one’s hometown, which is a reference to how the used ink cartridges are returned to each manufacturer’s recycling site, while also implying how this project sustainably recycles ink cartridges back into the environment.

The six printer manufacturers will provide the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI) with funds generated by a joint initiative of their ‘Ink Cartridge Satogaeri Project’. Under this agreement one JPY will be earmarked as a contribution to IPSI for each ink cartridge collected by the project. The financial contribution will be used in support of IPSI activities related to rebuilding after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, and other activities for the benefit of biodiversity and human well-being.

Funds have been accumulating since 21 March 2011, forming the first contribution. This funding will be used for a video production in Kirikiri, in Japan’s Tohoku region, which will provide a record of the rebuilding process of the way of life of the people in this area. The financial contribution will then be used in support of IPSI activities, especially related to rebuilding after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, in close collaboration with other IPSI members.