TRC Waste Toner Used To Create Paint

An innovative partnership between two companies Toner Recycling (TRC) and Enviropaints has yielded an innovative way of recycling used toner power left over from the cartridge collection program which TRC carries out on the behalf of Ricoh, Canon, Brother, Konica Minolta and Sharp. Wayne Grieve, General Manager of TRC had been looking to the missing link in his toner recycling program which could easily recycle the plastics and metals from used toner cartridges but was having to deal with 1,000 litres of left over toner a month.  “Finding a path for the waste toner was the missing piece of the jigsaw.” Wayne Grieve, General Manager of TRC.

Ministry of Environment

After looking for a solution to his problem and despite being approached by the Ministry of Environment for his country, saying that the toner could be used in a non profit system of road resurfacing, Grieve struck upon a company local to him (Enviropaints) which was willing to work together to find a solution to his problem. After six months of trials Enviropaints establish that the left over toner could be accessible for use in outdoor commercial paint which was suitable for buildings, fences and graffiti.

More on Enviropaints

Grieve said that Enviropaints established that used toner was polymer based; making it suitable for use in paints. After this important discovery TRC implemented a procedure for removing left over toner from its cartridges for sending off to Enviropaints. “It has been fantastic to work with Enviropaints, which has the technical expertise to think outside the square and produce quality paints incorporating all kinds of materials which would otherwise go to landfill.” Wayne Grieve, General Manager of TRC.

Enviropaints general manager said that this is yet another exciting inclusion of products which Enviropaints use in the formulation of their recycled paint. “We are able to use the various toner colours to their maximum advantage, and have created a new-life paint through innovation. This of course has definitive cost savings on our raw materials, resulting in a sharper price to the end user without affecting the quality.” – Peter Reid , General Manager of Enviropaints.