HP has developed a new technique for turning waste plastic bottles into inkjet printer cartridges as part of a "closed loop" recycling program.

Unveiled yesterday, the process sees HP combine the plastic from printer cartridges collected through its customer recycling progamme with recycled bottle resin to manufacture new inkjet printer cartridges. The company said that compounding additives used in the process ensure the recycled materials meet performance standards required of new cartridges.

HP added that the amount of recycled content in the new inkjet cartridges varies between 70 to 100 per cent of the total plastic used. The process has already been used to manufacture 200 million cartridges, saving energy and using enough recycled plastic to fill more than 200 tractor trailers, the company said.

Michael Hoffmann, senior vice president at HP's supplies, imaging and printing group, welcomed the development, claiming it offered a significant opportunity for the compant "to reduce the environmental impact HP products have on the planet".