What do you do with an empty ink or toner cartridge? Toss it? Stash it in a drawer “for later”? This SG60, Canon Singapore and the National Library Board (NLB) are offering a far better recycling answer.
The Cartridge Recycling Programme, launched in 2024, is now expanding with 10 additional library drop-off points across the island, making it easier than ever to turn yesterday’s prints into tomorrow’s raw materials.
The programme began with five libraries (Jurong, Punggol, Tampines, Woodlands and the National Library Building) and now extends to a wider network of community touchpoints so families, students and small businesses can recycle on the way to a book run or after a study session.
“At Canon, our philosophy of Kyosei (living and working together for the common good) drives everything we do,” said Andrew Koh, Senior Vice President and Head of Singapore Operations Group, Canon Singapore. “This partnership with NLB is much more than a recycling initiative but a conscious collective nationwide sustainability movement, upon which we empower all Singapore residents to champion a greener, more sustainable future through small, everyday actions.”
To channel the SG60 spirit into action, Canon has launched the Inkfinity Green Pledge, a light-hearted, community-led challenge that invites Singapore residents to make sustainability personal.
From 29 August to 14 November 2025, here’s the brief:
- Snap a photo with the cartridge recycling bin at any participating library.
- Pledge a simple eco-habit you’ll keep (short showers, bring your tote, you get the idea).
- Post on Instagram with your pledge in the caption, add #InkfinityGreenPledge, and tag @CanonSingapore.
Every cartridge deposited goes to a licensed facility for dismantling. Metals and plastics are channelled to downstream recyclers as feedstock; non-recyclables are sent for waste-to-energy incineration.
Canon positions the initiative as part of Singapore’s Zero Waste Masterplan. Eric Chin, Chief Sustainability Officer at NLB, noted: “We have been encouraged by the positive response to the pilot phase of this recycling initiative, where any brand of ink and toner cartridges can be responsibly recycled. We are pleased to strengthen our partnership with Canon Singapore by expanding this initiative to more libraries across Singapore.”
Recycling cartridges won’t save the planet on its own. But it will reduce virgin material use, will cut waste, and will normalise the idea that sustainability lives where we do.
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