Your old, used-up printer toner and ink cartridges can accumulate quickly if you own multiple printers. With over 350 million of these disposed into landfills annually, it has become critical to recycle them responsibly – thankfully there are several convenient recycling options! Keep reading to determine the best one for your needs!
Drop them off at your local office supply store
Shopping for office supplies can be made even easier with the convenience of recycling! Many retailers will take back your used or spent cartridges and happily recycle them. To do so, simply check if your local supplier offers such services on their website; you’d be surprised how quickly they’ll accept ink and toner containers!
Find a local recycling facility
Don’t know where to find your local recycling center? Earth911® is here to help! Just type in the item you want to recycle (e.g., ink and toner) plus your zip code, and they will provide a comprehensive list of nearby locations that accept recycling materials. For added convenience, why not try their iRecycle app – it has over 1,600,000 ways for you to responsibly dispose of over 350 items! Don’t let paint, batteries or any other recyclable items pile up – you can quickly and easily get rid of them all with a few simple steps.
Make some extra cash of your own or fundraise for your school, church or nonprofit
With eCycle Group®, earning extra money is a breeze! All you need to do is collect 20 items or at least 20 pounds worth of their qualifying products and print out the free shipping label they provide. They collaborate with numerous companies, schools, churches and nonprofits throughout the country – some even use it as fundraising opportunity. On top of that, you can check out a range of complimentary funding resources on their website like flyer templates and advice for an impactful recycling effort! In order to qualify for recycling, cartridges must be on the authorized price list and in good condition. If you’re sending them by mail, make sure each one is individually wrapped with bubble wrap or newspaper so as not to damage it during transit. Please note that only original-brand cartridges are accepted; remanufactured and damaged items won’t cut it! Checks will be issued monthly ranging from .23 cents up to $9.00 per cartridge depending upon its type.
Consider refilling your original brand ink cartridges
With the right ink refill kit and a bit of know-how, you can easily reuse an original brand cartridge that’s been used only once. Your refill kit should come with a bottle of ink, gloves, syringe, tool for screws and detailed instructions so you can effectively inject the correct level of ink into your cartridge. When it reaches full capacity again, just reinstall it in your printer to get back to printing as usual! Make sure that the refill kit you have chosen is appropriate for your specific cartridge series. Refill instructions and ink capacities are different across brands and types of cartridges, so it’s important to find the right one for your needs. Inkcartridges.com has a great selection of refill kits available for our best-selling printer models from HP® and Canon®, however please be aware that these can only be refilled a couple of times before quality starts to deteriorate and you will need to buy brand new ones instead!
Contact your printer manufacturer to see if they have a recycling program in place
Many companies provide recycling programs for their products, so it’s a good idea to see if they will accept your old cartridges. HP, as an example of this initiative, offers a free return program that allows customers to mail in their used toner cartridges with no cost involved. From the plethora of eco-friendly choices available right now, recycling printer cartridges can easily become part of everyone’s routine! Let’s educate each other on the significance and ease of recycling. By working together to properly discard our ink and toner cartridges, we can avoid a major quantity entering landfills while reducing our collective carbon footprint!
