HP “Print Chairs” are durable school chairs made from recycled HP ink and toner cartridges. Instead of sending used cartridges to landfill, HP collects and processes them through a new recycling hub in Colombia.

The plastics and other materials from original HP cartridges are transformed into chair components. HP partners with the Recupera Tu Silla Foundation to design and deliver these chairs to schools across Colombia, especially in remote and rural communities where there are often more students than available seats.

So far, HP and its partners have:

• Transformed more than six tons of plastic into more than 600 chairs.
• Used materials from HP’s broader recycling efforts, including its long-running HP Planet Partners program.

This approach helps reduce plastic waste while providing a practical, long-lasting seating solution for classrooms that need it most.

Many Colombian schools, particularly in remote and rural areas, face serious infrastructure gaps. Government reports show that thousands of children are studying on broken chairs or even on the floor. When something as basic as a safe place to sit is missing, school attendance and engagement can suffer.

By turning used HP cartridges into chairs, HP and the Recupera Tu Silla Foundation are addressing both a resource gap and a waste challenge:

• Students receive safe, durable seating, which supports better focus and participation in class.
• Having a proper chair helps improve students’ self-esteem and creates a more dignified learning environment.
• Schools report that better conditions can help reduce school absence rates.

As HP’s Global Head of Sustainability Customer Success notes, a chair may seem basic, but in these communities it can bring hope and give students a tangible opportunity to change their daily reality.

The Print Chairs initiative is one example of how HP is reimagining materials use and circularity across its business.

Key elements of the broader strategy include:

• Large-scale cartridge recycling: More than one billion HP print cartridges have been returned to the HP Planet Partners recycling program as of December 31, 2022.
• Recycled content in products: In 2023, more than 95% of HP home and office printers, laptops, notebooks, displays, and workstations shipped to customers included recycled materials.
• Addressing global plastic waste: The world generates over 350 million metric tons of plastic annually. By repurposing materials into products like Print Chairs, HP helps reduce waste and extend the life of resources.
• Partnership-driven impact: HP collaborates with organizations such as the Recupera Tu Silla Foundation and the Colombia Military to deliver more chairs and plans to double its impact and reach in Colombia over the next year.

These efforts are part of HP’s commitment, highlighted in its 2023 Sustainable Impact Report, to measure success not only by products and profits, but also by contributions to society and progress toward becoming one of the world’s most sustainable and just technology companies.