December 21, 2023
Is your staff recycling all of your ink and toner cartridges? Don’t be so sure! A shocking amount are ending up in landfills all over the world, and it’s becoming a significant problem.
In this blog, we’ll explore why it’s important to recycle your cartridges (yes, all of them) and how you can save money by doing the right thing. And good news — it’s pretty easy to do!
Why You Should Not Throw Away Ink and Toner Cartridges
That single cartridge looks so small and innocent, doesn’t it? How much harm can it cause?
Well, as it turns out, ink cartridges contain many chemicals that can be harmful to humans and the environment. Not only that but manufacturing a new cartridge requires a surprising amount of oil — up to 3 quarts, depending on the cartridge. Throwing them away is unnecessary, wasteful, and just plain wrong!
Environmental Impact of Recycling Cartridges
Most people don’t know the difference they make (or could make) by recycling. If you need a few facts to persuade your staff to do the right thing, here are a few that are pretty hard to ignore!
Cost-Saving Benefits
Many toner cartridge recycling programs are designed to be very simple and can even save you money! If you use a print provider, ask them if they offer or recommend any recycling services. If you don’t use a provider, here are just a few companies that offer rewards or incentives for recycling cartridges:
Office Depot
Members can earn rewards for bringing in their used ink and toner cartridges — from any brand and any store. However, if you’re pressed for time, you can also print out a free pre-paid UPS shipping label to ship them instead.
Staples
Staples has a similar rewards program. There’s a minimum $50 ink and toner purchase requirement — which is very easy to hit — but rewards are earned whether cartridges are delivered in-store or by mail.
Cartridge World
Cartridge World offers various recycling programs, depending on the region. Ask your local store for the initiatives that are available in your area.
Target
Target makes it easy to recycle all kinds of things at their stores, including plastic bags and ink and toner cartridges. While you don’t get rewards points for doing this — at least, not at the time this blog was written — it’s incredibly convenient, and there aren’t any limits on the number of cartridges that can be recycled per customer.
Manufacturers
Most print cartridge manufacturers have their own recycling program in the US, and although most are free, they aren’t all the same. To find a comprehensive list of ink and toner manufacturers that offer recycling programs and helpful links, check out EveryCartridge.com/us/.
How To Recycle Your Empty Toner Cartridges
Bringing your empty cartridges into an office supply store involves little to no prep time. All you have to do is bring your cartridges to the customer service desk, and unless otherwise advised, they will walk you through the return process.
Other recycling programs may send you a recycling container. When it’s full, you’ll need to notify them to come pick it up.
Most toner cartridges also have recycling instructions on their original packaging. Usually, recycling involves packaging your empty toner cartridges into provided plastic bags or shipping envelopes and applying a pre-addressed, pre-postmarked label. If these aren’t provided in the original packaging, you can usually request these supplies online.
But before going through any of the above processes, talk to your print provider. It is very likely they have a program in place that makes it even easier for you; they may handle the entire recycling process for you!
For example, we’ve created a helpful resource within our Knowledge Base to make it exceptionally easy for our clients to recycle cartridges, regardless of brand or where it was purchased. Click the link below to learn more!
