Tips on Recycling Cartridges

An estimated 375 million inkjet cartridges are disposed of each year in the U.S. Recycle your cartridge and contribute to the materials used to produce remanufactured cartridges.

Many cartridge companies now reuse almost 100 percent of old cartridges to produce new ones, adding only new ink. It takes about 80 percent less energy to remanufacture the cartridge plastic than to produce it from new materials. Also, remanufactured laser cartridges use about half the amount of oil needed to make new cartridges. The process also saves more than 38,000 tons of plastic and metal from landfills.

You can also reduce your consumption by printing less. Not only will this save cartridge use, but it will also save paper. When your cartridge does run out, you can recycle it in the following ways:

Send It In

Many companies now pay for used cartridges which they remanufacture and resell. These companies make recycling your cartridges easy.

If you buy an HP cartridge, it includes a mailing label, making sending it back quick and easy. HP doesn’t remanufacture, but instead uses the cartridge materials to produce items such as clothes hangers, roof tiles and spools.

Find a Drop-Off Spot

Local office supply stores often offer incentives to recycle cartridges, such as returning a cartridge in exchange for a ream of paper. You can also check to see if a local school is collecting for a fundraiser. E-waste drop-offs also often accept used printer cartridges.

Host a Fundraiser

You can easily host your own fundraiser. There are many organizations that support inkjet cartridge collection fundraisers:

• CURE Recycling donates the funds raised by cartridge collection to fund cancer research.
• Funding Factory will help raise money for your school or organization when you collect printer cartridges.