Total Green Office Solution "Part V"

Regulatory Compliance/Air Quality Assurance

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines, green building standards and individual health concerns spark inquires into the safety of operating Ricoh products. We can offer assurance, since Ricoh goes beyond legislative compliance and has a strict management system that minimizes or completely prohibits environmentally sensitive substances. Many of our products meet standards set by the European ROHs directive. Additionally VOC (volatile organic compounds) such as dust, ozone and styrene fall far below EPA's recommended limits.

In total there are 66 substance groups controlled by Ricoh with 16 of those substances being totally prohibited from our products.

Internally many Ricoh products have achieved ISO 14024 certified third party labeling for environmentally-friendly products, including the European Blue Angel label and Canada's Environmental Choice. Not to mention complying with many United States federal, state and county environmental guidelines.

Recycling and End-of-Life Management programs that reduce, reuse and recycle end-of-life products, Ricoh allows customers to divert tons of resources from landfills each year. We work within a sophisticated framework in which repeated recycling reduces new resource consumption and waster generation to the furthest extent possible.

If discarded cartridges end up in a landfill, it can take centuries for the plastic material to biodegrade if at all. With Ricoh's Toner Cartridge Return Program, customers can return cartridges and toner containers. Depending on the model, cartridges with parts that meet new part standards are reused in manufacturing new cartridges, or reconstituted as alternative wood and fuel sources

Ricoh recovers 98% of material content from end-of-life equipment via our process of demanufacturing. Recovered resources are reconstituted into new parts or converted into energy. Ricoh demanufactures and average of 12 million pounds of equipment each year.

Note from Art: If you are interested in De-Manufacturing your Ricoh product, please email me or call me and I will quote on the project to make sure your old copier does not end of in the landfill.