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[GreenYes] TAKE ACTION: Lexmark's Passion for Waste
GRRN has a new web action targeting Lexmark, the $4 billion printer
maker that spun off from IBM a decade ago.

Back in 1998, GRRN awarded Lexmark International our first
Wastemaker Award for its Prebate program, which (still) uses a price
discount to get customers to agree not to refill their cartridges.

Now Lexmark is attempting to use the Digital Millennium Copyright
Act to restrict remanufacturing of their cartridges. Lexmark has
designed into their laser printer cartridges a chip that prevents refilling
of the cartridge by third parties.  Static Control sells a device to allow
refilling.

GRRN promotes producer responsibility as a way to promote
product redesign to eliminate waste.  With Prebate and 'killer chips'
Lexmark intentionally designs its products to become waste.

While we support Lexmark's attempts to 'recycle' cartridges returned
to them, we note that many cartridges are not recycled and currently
end up in Eastern Asia where primitive methods of extracting materials
of value create appalling impacts on human health and local
environments. Over 1.8 million Lexmark cartridges a year in the U.S. 
are refilled by the cartridge remanufacturing aftermarket.

If Lexmark were truly committed to resource conservation they would
design every cartridge to be refilled and ensure that they are
remanufactured responsibly -- either by themselves or by others --
with none exported to Asia for 'recycling.'  Write Lexmark CEO
Paul J. Curlander and tell him that in addition to a 'Passion for printing
ideas' (the company's motto), Lexmark needs to develop a Passion
for eliminating waste.

Write Lexmark from http://action.grrn.org/action/

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GrassRoots Recycling Network
P.O. Box 6707, Athens, GA 30604-6707
Tel: 706-613-7121   Fax: 706-613-7123
Email: zerowaste@no.address
Web:  www.GRRN.org
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