geldfuermuell GmbH

With over 20,000 suppliers of empties, Geld für Müll GmbH (GfM) is one of Germany's largest companies in the recycling industry for used toner cartridges and printer cartridges. By purchasing these empties and returning them to the economic cycle, the company based in Hilpoltstein, Bavaria, has been making an active contribution to the conservation of natural resources since 1998. The spectrum of suppliers of empties ranges from private individuals to internationally active corporations. In return for the empty cartridges, GfM customers receive a recycling fee. By recycling printer modules, everyone can make an active contribution to protecting the environment. In addition, the company has been selling refilled ink cartridges and remanufactured toner cartridges for private and commercial use under the Highlife brand since 2003. With currently 23 employees, Geld für Müll GmbH generated annual sales of around 5 million euros in 2010. As a member of the German Environmental Management Association (B.A.U.M. e.V.), the Bavarian Environmental Pact and the Quality Association of Environmentally Conscious Businesses (QuB), Geld für Müll is committed to sustainable business practices. Further information can be found at www.geldfuermuell.de.

Geld für Müll GmbH recycles empty toners and printer cartridges in a resource-saving manner.

Geld für Müll GmbH recycles used printer cartridges in a resource-friendly way - consumers save up to 96 percent. "Ink price profiteering" is what the European Commission calls the pricing of new ink and toner cartridges for printers, copiers and fax machines. As early as 2002, EU officials in Brussels told major printer manufacturers that two original cartridges were often more expensive than a new printer. However, the horrendous pricing policy of the equipment manufacturers is not hurting sales of new cartridges. According to the Bundesdeutscher Arbeitskreis für Umweltbewusstes Management (BAUM e.V.), 55 million inkjet cartridges and 8 million toner cartridges are sold in Germany every year - and the trend is rising. In addition to the financial burden on consumers, the more than 350 million printer cartridges sold in Europe each year cause enormous environmental damage. In Germany alone, around 80 percent of used cartridges end up in the trash, even though the ink tank and print head still function perfectly in most cases. Packed into trucks, this quantity adds up to a line of cars 25 kilometers long. The cartridges can be refilled without any loss of quality. "If we recycle the empties, we reduce the mountain of waste in the long term and conserve important, non-renewable resources such as oil, copper and zinc," explains Ingo Wegner, Managing Director of Geld für Müll GmbH. The 34-year-old knows his way around the world of ink and toner. In 1998, at the age of 22, Wegner and his wife Britta founded Datatrans in Hilpoltstein, Germany, and focused on trading empty cartridges. Because the original manufacturers prevent the reproduction of printer modules by means of restrictive patent regulations, suppliers of alternative cartridges and cartridges, such as Highlife, Pelikan or GeHa, are dependent on intact empty modules. Wegner recognizes this market and expands the company from a small garage operation to one of the largest recycling service providers for ink cartridges and cartridges in Germany. In 2003, Wegner renamed the flourishing company "Geld für Müll". Since then, the native of Nuremberg has not only supplied alternative cartridge manufacturers with the necessary empties, but also offers refilled printer modules at a low price under the name Highlife. According to the trade magazine Computerbild, consumers save up to 96 percent on original modules with the help of alternative cartridges and cartridges.

Empties donation enables families of sick children to find a temporary home

20,000 empties suppliers avoid around 41 tons of waste Today, Geld für Müll GmbH in Hilpoltstein employs 23 people and buys used printer cartridges and toner cartridges from more than 20,000 empties suppliers. GfM's customers range from international corporations to private individuals. In return for the empty cartridges and toner cartridges, the suppliers receive an empties premium. Wegner pays its customers up to 20 euros for individual printer modules. Each month, around 140,000 euros flow from Geld für Müll GmbH to the participating consumers. In addition to the financial benefits, the environment also profits: "We currently recycle around 90 percent of cartridge components and 100 percent of ink cartridge components," says Wegner. In this way, the Hilpoltstein-based company avoids around 31 tons of waste every month. "Our goal is both to increase the proportion of recyclable cartridge components, such as plastics and metals, to close to 100 percent and to increase the total proportion of refilled cartridges and inkjet cartridges on the German market." According to the European umbrella organization Etira (European Toner and Inkjet Remanufacturers Association), around 25 percent of toner cartridges and inkjet cartridges sold worldwide are currently refilled. In the EU alone, the umbrella organization estimates, the industry's approximately 65,000 employees generate annual sales of more than 1.2 billion euros. Empty cartridges reach Wegner from all over Germany. "We receive about 15 percent of the empties from customers in neighboring countries," Wegner explains. Consumers collect the empty modules either in their own containers or in a free GfM collection box. Depending on the quantity of empties, the box size varies from a moving box to a Euro pallet. In Hilpoltstein, specialists separate the incoming cartridges into functional and defective empty modules with the help of technical testing procedures. Only intact printer cartridges are recycled and returned to the retail trade. A disposal specialist separates the non-reusable empties into their individual components and recycles the raw materials. "In accordance with the Closed Substance Cycle and Waste Management Act, which stipulates that raw materials should be handled as sparingly as possible, we are able to recycle most of the empties," explains Britta Wegner. Before plastics - the main component of cartridges - end up unused in landfills, the raw material is used as a substitute fuel to generate district heating, for example. "The refilling of a cartridge that is already in circulation naturally saves immense resources compared to the production of a new cartridge," emphasizes Wegner.