Day 23: Ink Cartridge Recycling

Once I get on a topic it it sometimes hard to stray, so today I am, once again, going to recycling for my Good Human Act. I just had to change my printer ink and was about to throw it in the trash, when it occurred to me that I can probably recycle it.  I was also recently at Staples, and vaguely member them saying something about bringing old cartridges in to them so, after double checking that they do indeed recycle old cartridges, I am going to drop mine off there today! I also looked up ink cartridge recycling online and found a good site explaining why it is beneficial to recycle ink cartridges. It says:

Why recycle printer cartridges?

Save landfill space and tax dollars

Over 375 million empty toner cartridges and ink cartridges are thrown into the trash every year in the US. Most of these printer cartridges end up on landfill sites or in incinerators.

375 million cartridges amount to roughly 11 cartridges being disposed of every second. If you put all these cartridges end to end they would cover a distance encircling the earth over three times.

This mountain of waste can be reduced through reuse and recycling. Yet approximately 70% of all ink cartridges and 50% of all toner cartridges are still not recycled. Things are continuously changing for the better with pressure from legislation, environmental awareness among consumers and a more mature recycling industry.

The plastics used in printer cartridges are made of an engineering grade polymer that have a very slow decomposing rate ranging between 450 to 1000 years depending on the cartridge type. Ink cartridges may also leak printer ink polluting the surrounding environment.

The recovery, reuse and recycling of all these empty printer cartridges will save tax dollars since we all pay taxes for landfills through waste management costs.

Help conserve natural resources

By recycling printer cartridges, we conserve natural resources and energy by reducing the need for virgin materials. Up to 97 percent of the materials that make up a printer cartridge can be recycled or reused if taken care of. Printer cartridges can in extreme cases be refilled up to 15 times before reaching the end of their life most though averaging between 5-7 refills.

Save money and help creating jobs

Buying recycled printer cartridges can reduce the cost with up to 50% compared to cartridges that are made of virgin materials or non reused parts. Depending on the recycling program and printer cartridge type you will get money back for every returned cartridge.