"We needed to launch something for non-paper media," said HP EMEA GSB marketing director Francois Martin. "There is an increased demand for traceability – brand owners want to know what happens to old banners."

He added that the service could be offered to both printers and brand owners, as long as the substrates were supplied by HP.

Materials covered by the scheme include HP's HDPE reinforced banner, its Tyvek banner, its heavy textile banner and the wrinkle-free flag.

The scheme will be policed by random checks of the materials recycled and by checking volumes against media purchased.

Users of the scheme can apply to HP for a recycling box which, once full, is collected and the substrates taken to a third-party firm in Italy for reprocessing into products such as plastic decking.

The scheme is open to HP customers in Italy, Spain, Switzerland, UK, Turkey, Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands.

The company first launched the scheme in the US at the beginning of this year, after feedback from customers of its Designjet L65500, which uses latex ink designed to print onto recyclable plastics including polyester and polyethylene, revealed that recycling companies would not collect their materials because the volumes were too low.

Martin added that feedback from the six European businesses trialling the scheme had been very positive.

HP already offers a system for recycling printheads, ink cartridges and cleaning stations.

See also: Earlier this year Robert Horne launched a paid for plastics recycling scheme for signage printers.