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Living Values

2008 Corporate Social Responsibility Report

 

Natural Environment

 

Ink and Toner Product Stewardship

Our customers can save money and reduce their environmental impact by taking advantage of the ink and toner cartridge choices offered by OfficeMax. These include the following:

• Purchasing OfficeMax brand remanufactured ink and toner cartridges, which generally provide savings of up to 15 percent compared with national brands.
• Returning their own cartridges for remanufacturing, often with incentives from OfficeMax and/or the manufacturer.
• Utilizing our Ink Refill Station Program, which is available through our Retail business segment.
• Accessing our MaxPerks recycling program (see the Customer Value section).

Ink Refill Station Program

The Retail business segment of our U.S. Operations rolled out our Ink Refill Station Program by installing Ink Refill Stations in 2006. Today, there are Ink Refill Stations in more than 670 of our stores. The program enables customers to have their empty cartridges refilled for up to 50 percent less than the cost of purchasing a new cartridge.

Because cartridges can be refilled between four to 10 times before being recycled, and given that most computer users replace their printer's ink cartridge four to six times a year, this program has helped eliminate thousands of pounds of plastic waste from public landfills, while saving our customers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Grand & Toy THINK! Ink & Toner Cartridge Recycling Program

Think!Our Canadian subsidiary, Grand & Toy, operates THINK!, an ink and toner cartridge take back program that kept more than 275,000 cartridges from the waste stream in 2008. Also in 2008, Grand & Toy expanded its Federal Government Credit and Box Programs that were piloted in 2007. These customers are provided with an initial shipment of boxes in which to return their empty toner cartridges, thus reducing the amount of times drivers have to visit customer sites for pickup, and helping to ensure clean return of the cartridges.