Volker Kappius, CEO of Delacamp
By Volker Kappius, CEO, Delacamp
As the industry navigates the tension between cost and carbon, Delacamp CEO Volker Kappius argues for a local-first strategy. His views reflect a growing movement towards regionalised reuse operations.
In an era where sustainability is no longer optional but imperative, the practice of shipping used office imaging cartridges halfway across the globe for remanufacturing is nothing short of environmental negligence.
While remanufacturing is a powerful tool in the fight against waste, it loses much of its ecological value when accompanied by thousands of unnecessary shipping miles. Let’s put that into perspective.
A single 40-foot container travelling from Europe to China and back can generate between 20,000 and 40,000 kilograms of CO₂-equivalent emissions, depending on route efficiency, vessel type and fuel used. That’s the carbon footprint of dozens of cars running for an entire year, all for the sake of saving a few pennies on labour.
This flies in the face of what sustainability is meant to represent: meeting today’s needs without compromising the future. That means reducing pollution, conserving resources and cutting back emissions. Every time a cartridge is sent to China and back, those principles are compromised.
Here’s an illustrative comparison. Let’s say you collect one tonne of used cartridges in Hamburg – the hometown of Delacamp for over 146 years – and plan to remanufacture them.
Transport-related CO₂ emissions:
- Local (Eschweiler, Germany): 2 × 457 km by truck
→ 0.063 tonnes CO₂ - Regional (Casablanca, Morocco): 2 × 3,500 km by truck
→ 0.49 tonnes CO₂ - Remote (Zhuhai, China): 2 × 25,500 km by container ship
→ 1.09 tonnes CO₂
The result? Remanufacturing in China produces 2.2 times more emissions than doing so in Morocco, and a staggering 17.1 times more than remanufacturing locally in Germany.
It’s not hard to see why leading OEMs like Ricoh and Brother have taken steps to remanufacture in Europe for the European market. In parallel, European and American remanufacturers increasingly serve their domestic regions. This model is both ecologically and economically sound and should serve as a blueprint for the industry.
Asian remanufacturers, too, would do well to adopt a more regionally focused strategy. Some cartridges may indeed be remanufactured in China, but shipping empty cartridges from Europe or North America to fuel that process defeats the purpose.
The message is clear: if remanufacturing is to remain a pillar of sustainability, it must also be local. Outsourcing it to the other side of the planet for marginal cost savings is not only short-sighted – it’s reckless.
And if the carbon footprint of cross-continental remanufacturing is already unsustainable, we shouldn’t even begin to compare it with that of newly manufactured cartridges made from single-use plastics in China – a practice that compounds emissions with irreversible resource depletion and plastic waste.
Editor’s note:
At The Recycler, we provide a platform for all perspectives in the imaging consumables sector, from remanufacturers to new-build suppliers. Volker Kappius’ opinion reflects the long-standing environmental case for reuse, which is gaining renewed momentum in Europe.
Globally, market conditions still favour new build in many regions, and we recognise those realities. But in Europe, sustainability is not just a value — it’s becoming a legal requirement. Pending legislation, including carbon border mechanisms, the Right to Repair, and circular economy targets, will drive a fundamental shift in how products are sourced, used and remanufactured.
That’s why the local remanufacturing model deserves serious attention, not just for its ecological benefits, but for its alignment with the future regulatory landscape.
