I well know and appreciate these "recycling" programs, and use them when necessary.
But the issue here is Canon's INTENTIONAL blocking of repairs on otherwise functional devices, after a certain limit, using "proprietary software" to render printers (and likely other devices) unusable, and thereby increase sales of new devices.
Printers could continue to work, except for this devious, greedy sabotage. Manufacturers could make the ink absorber user serviceable, or at least serviceable by trained technicians.
Canon's motive is obvious: This sabotage helps sell printers.
Canon could make the ink absorber a replaceable component, to extend the life of their printers, just like automobile catalytic converters can be replaced to extend the life of cars that are otherwise in good running condition, and safe to drive.
Imagine if Toyota or Ford or BMW did something similar that rendered their cars inoperable after 200,000 miles...only because some proprietary computer code caused them to fail tailpipe emissions testing, even though everything about the engine and exhaust system was fine.
In my case, my "obsolete" printer will print and scan, I just did both operations today by following the instructions. The printer is fine, but it throws a fault code and won't print because of proprietary software. So my the printer is disabled for no good reason other than Canon wants to sell more printers. That's a scam.
Just because there are programs to collect old electronics and "recycle" the materials does not mean the whole device will avoid the landfill. It means that SOME parts of it can be recycled. But the bulk, no doubt, goes to a landfill. And all of that processing of discarded printers consumes substantial amounts of energy and landfill space.
What's so bad about Canon's scam is that it results in consumption of the materials and energy to make the printers. Without scams like this one with Canon's printers, the demand for valuable resources would be less, the supply of materials for building devices would last longer.
If Canon's unethical tactic didn't exist, there would be far fewer printers being delivered to these collection programs, with less waste going to the landfill.
Most of humanity assumes that the supply of these materials is NOT UNLIMITED, and that the space to dispose of the waste we produce is NOT UNLIMITED. Wrong, and wrong.
It's time we all realized that Earth is a closed system, that population is growing rapidly, and industry is rushing to consume resources faster and faster, to make a profit.
What humanity is doing to Planet Earth is not sustainable. Companies like Canon are hastening the collision between demand for resources and the diminishing supply of the limited resources we have on this our planet.
The collision is probably closer than we want to believe. There's a good chance that people born in 2025 will face the consequences of this unrealistic expectation that resources and disposal space is unlimited.
