ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Eastman Kodak and Wal-Mart Stores have announced the launch of a national program to recycle used materials from in-store picture kiosks. The program is underway at about 4,100 Wal-Mart stores and Sam's Clubs in the United States that operate KODAK Picture Kiosks, and is expected to annually recycle 2 million pounds of thermal printer ribbon, spools and cartridges. That amount is equivalent to the weight of approximately six 250-passenger commercial airliners.
According to a news release, the initiative builds on the ongoing efforts of both companies, as outlined in Wal-Mart's company-wide zero waste goal and Kodak's Responsible Growth principles.
The KODAK Picture Kiosk is a walk-up, in-store photo station where consumers can make photo prints, enlargements, greeting cards, calendars, invitations and more starting with prints, CDs or digital camera cards. Included in the Wal-Mart recycling program will be all three components used in the kiosk: printer ribbon, plastic spools and cartridges. These components are primarily made of polyethylene terphthalate and polystyrene, which are plastics that are widely recycled today.
These materials will be collected in each store and sent regularly to one of several Wal-Mart Return Centers. From there, Wal-Mart recyclers, with Kodak's assistance, will separate the materials and process them for re-use. In a related effort to further reduce waste and impact to the environment, Kodak has introduced a change in the way these thermal materials are packaged by removing the bubble wrap around the donor spool — which decreases the overall package size and weight.
Since 1990, Kodak has recycled more than 1 billion one-time use cameras in conjunction with numerous partners, including Wal-Mart.
