How would you describe your solution in a few words?

BlackBox® Toner Recycling is the only recycling facility for toner modules in Switzerland. The big challenge here is to control the explosiveness of the toner powder contained in it. In the BlackBox®, this powder is wet-chemically extracted from the modules, bound and stabilized. This process enables significantly higher mass throughputs than the previously known dry process, which has been used in Europe to date.

Thanks to the implementation in Switzerland, the toner waste no longer has to be exported abroad, which is a CO2-intensive transport, but can be recycled in a local facility in accordance with Swiss environmental standards.

Who are your customers?

Our customers are:

• Manufacturers of printers
• Participants in the Swico take-back system (collection points, ICT companies)
• End consumer (return by mail)

What are the environmental benefits of your solution?

• The production of secondary raw materials compared to primary production not only saves CO2, but also saves energy.
• Thanks to the local solution, truck transports abroad are reduced
• Due to its chemical composition, the toner powder must not be reused. It is therefore further processed into a safe energy carrier for energy and heat generation for the district heating network.
• Recycling of the remaining materials occurs according to the high Swiss environmental standards according to Swiss-Cenelec (SN-EN-50625)

How do you manage to exist on the market?

As the sole provider of toner recycling in Switzerland, we meet all the requirements for sustainable recycling in accordance with the specifications of the Federal Office for the Environment (see VREG) and the European standard.

Thanks to our high throughput we have developed an economical process.

Nominated Solution: Black Box® Toner Recycling

Company: SOREC

Further Information: www.sorec.ch/black-box-tonerrecycling

The family business SOREC is run by the third generation: from left to right Christoph Solenthaler, Monika Giannotta, Ralph Solenthaler © Solenthaler Recycling