Toner ink cartridges are costly, but they can be even more costly for the environment if they aren’t properly disposed of or recycled. Printing technology companies such as Hewlett Packard have been working non-stop on ways to efficiently dispose of and/or reuse ink cartridges.
Since HP’s Planet Partners program began in 1991, HP has recycled more than 250 million HP printer toner cartridges. With the ink manufacturing business in the United States growing at a 6.9% rate every year since 2009, it may be beneficial to learn how to recycle empty ink and toner cartridges ourselves (in case HP is overwhelmed!). Below are three methods on how to recycle toner cartridges.
- Donate to Charity: If you thought only clothes and furniture could be donated to charity, think again. Most schools, churches, and libraries will have boxes to dispose your printer toner cartridges. This is a win-win situation: you dispose of your empty cartridges, and the organization will benefit from the money earned by selling them.
- Send them back: One of the easiest ways to recycle your cartridges is to simply return them from the store your purchased them from. Any stores selling printing products and gadgets will be happy to collect these from you so that they in turn can refill them and sell them as refilled toner cartridges.
- Sell them: After purchasing your toner ink cartridges, you have the option to sell them for cash. However, if you are the one buying used cartridges, make sure they are of the highest quality and name brand; around 66% of all printer users have reported problems while using third-party printing products instead of high quality supplies. Be sure to search online for organizations that will purchase your empty cartridges in exchange for cash.
WIth the cost of toner and printer ink continuing to rise, it may be a good idea to continue to purchase high quality printer ink (it may save you money in the long term) but to get money for those empties. At $13 an ounce for the cheapest ink, and $75 for the highest quality, it couldn’t hurt to get some cash back. Find more on this topic here.
