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Office Depot Enhances Ink and Toner Recycling Program; More Than 12 Million Cartridges Recycled Since 2002

DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 22, 2004--Office Depot, Inc., (NYSE:ODP), a world leader in the resale of products made from recycled content, today announced the latest enhancement of its ink and toner recycling program. Now through March 31, customers who return eligible used ink and toner cartridges to any Office Depot store in the U.S. will be given the choice of receiving one free ream of the company's EnviroCopy 35% post-consumer recycled (PCR) content paper or saving $2.50 on their next purchase of any ink, toner or fax product. Since the program launched in January 2002, more than 12 million ink and toner cartridges have been recycled and the initiative has been expanded to include retail customers, business customers and Office Depot employees around the world. "The program is part of Office Depot's ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship," noted Tyler Elm, Director of Environmental Affairs for Office Depot, "and just one of our strategic initiatives designed to both increase the use of environmentally preferable products and to educate customers as to the benefits of recycling." According to Elm, on an annual basis, Office Depot's ink and toner recycling program benefits the environment in the following ways: -- The conservation of approximately 127 million BTUs of embedded energy - the energy required to manufacture the plastic cartridges, and -- The conservation of approximately 614 million BTUs of embedded energy - the oil and natural gas resources embedded within the cartridges' styrene resin shell. The total embedded energy conserved equates to approximately 615,000 gallons of fuel -- enough to allow an average midsize car to drive over 17 million miles -- while saving thousands of cubic feet of landfill space due to remanufactured cartridge usage. In looking at the impact of Office Depot's recycling program on the environment, Elm pointed out a number of interesting facts(a): -- By some estimates, nearly eight ink and toner cartridges are thrown away in the U.S. every second. -- According to industry sources, 98% of ink jet cartridges end up in the solid waste stream - although this percentage has been decreasing the past year thanks to aggressive recovery efforts like Office Depot's recycling program. -- Industry analysts estimate that a spent ink and toner cartridge can be reused between four and seven times. -- Each laser printer cartridge, on average, consists of approximately 2 1/2 pounds of plastic - primarily acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) - along with steel, aluminum and rubber. -- Manufacturing each printer cartridge requires approximately three quarts of petroleum to power the manufacturing process that converts oil and natural gas to plastic. -- Each cartridge contains petroleum as "embedded" energy (i.e. the fuel value of the plastic itself). It takes the energy equivalent of approximately one-half gallon of oil to make one 2 1/2 pound cartridge. -- Using five cases of EnviroCopy in place of virgin paper spares a mature tree from being cut down. (a) Content provided by GreenOrder, an information services and consulting firm that specializes in sustainable procurement and operations. Office Depot is currently working with GreenOrder on a variety of environmental projects. About Office Depot With annual sales of more than $12 billion, no one sells more office supplies to more customers in more countries than Office Depot. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Delray Beach, Fla., the company conducts business in 23 countries and employs nearly 50,000 people worldwide. Office Depot is a leader in every distribution channel - from retail stores and contract delivery to catalogs and e-commerce. The company is the world's number three online retailer - with FY'04 sales expected to surpass $3 billion. In North America, Office Depot has 923 retail stores in addition to a national business-to-business delivery network supported by 22 delivery centers, more than 60 local sales offices and 13 regional call centers. The company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index. Additional press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com. CONTACT: Office Depot, Inc., Delray Beach Brian Levine, 561-438-2895 blevine@officedepot.com SOURCE: Office Depot, Inc.