Fifty Empty Inkjet Cartridges = One Goat
Howard Lake | 8 June 2006 | Newswire
Banff Primary School near Aberdeen has discovered a brand new mathematical equation simply by collecting up empty inkjet printer cartridges used in the school’s 35 printers and returning them free of charge to Environmental Business Products (EBP) in London where they will be recycled. For every fifty cartridges received EBP donates enough money to buy a goat for families in West Africa to provide milk, manure for crops and help build up new livestock for impoverished farmers in the region, recently devastated by drought and freak storms.
The inkjet cartridge recycling scheme at Banff Primary School is linked to Northcliffe Electronic Publishing’s Beehive charity initiative ‘Get a Goat for Africa’. Since March 2006, collectively the scheme has raised enough to buy 40 goats and 10 chickens. But schools nationwide can raise funds for over thirty different charities of their choice including Save the Children, Tommy’s, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Whizz Kids, Riding for the Disabled plus many more, at no cost to themselves, not even the postage.
Children from all the classes at Banff Primary School helped collect, bag and send off the cartridges in special ‘Get a Goat’ Freepost bags provided by Northcliffe and supplied by EBP. The school is now planning to extend the scheme to the school’s parents, their friends and local businesses. Ivy Barron, the school’s project co-ordinator said, As well as the Freepost bags, NEP sent us photographs of the families with their goats. It was fascinating to discover that something that is usually thrown away could be recycled, and also have the potential to improve a family’s life so radically. It is also a worthwhile and educational project which the children have enjoyed’.
Oxfam has distributed goats to Mauritanian farmers like Aiche Mint Inmzine who lives in Aftout. The goats (are) as a gift from the sky. Giving animals to people like us is very important. It gave me confidence and increased my family’s security. Two of the goats gave birth so we have more animals and we had milk at a traditional time of hardshipâ€. Local veterinary assistants are also trained to look after the animals in case they become ill.
Environmental Business Products also collects laser cartridges and unwanted mobile phones for recycling. Simply contact Environmental Business Products Ltd. 214 Acton Lane, Park Royal, London, NW10 7NH, tel. 0208 838 6888 or email
an************@in******.uk
. The company’s web address is www.inkagain.co.uk for further information on its charity projects and recycling facts.
– ends –
June 2006
For further press information on Environmental Business Products Limited, please contact Pam Fenton, PFPR, tel. 01494 718502, mobile: 07751 580510 or email
Pa*******@pf**.biz
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.