A Greener Future: How to Recycle Used Ink and Toner Cartridges

Imagine a mountain of 375 million empty ink and toner cartridges—that’s how many are thrown away each year. It equates to more than 1 million per day, with most ending up in landfills, polluting the environment and adding to waste management costs.

If everyone reduced the number of cartridges disposed of by merely one-third, 40 tons of plastic would be prevented from entering landfills each year, and more than 1 million liters of oil would be saved. The problem may seem insurmountable, but when everyone does their part by implementing a recycling program for ink and toner cartridges, a greener future will come into view.

Making a positive impact on the environment should be a priority of any reputable Managed Print provider. They will partner with vendors that offer recycling programs and can help your company utilize those vendor’s services. In the event your company has a large volume of cartridges and toner that may not be serviced by a vendor, your provider can work with you to find other disposal options.

How it Works

The makers of ink cartridges and toner have developed free and convenient bulk recycling programs to make the process simple. Your Managed Print provider can recommend which partnering vendor is most suitable for you and help start the process.

Once you’re connected with the appropriate vendor, you can request recycling kits consisting of special envelopes or cartons, prepaid shipping labels, return instructions and more. When your package is ready, a pick-up is scheduled. That’s it!

A pallet pick-up can even be arranged for larger quantities that cannot ship via traditional Fedex or UPS pick-up methods.

Participating Vendors

Some vendors ensure that 100% of consumables are recycled with zero waste to landfills. This is reassuring for those seeking to reduce their impact on the environment. Here is a list of the most common vendors offering free and eco-friendly bulk recycling services for your ink or toner cartridges (click on the logo to be redirected to the appropriate website).

Implementing a Managed Print program can do more than save time, paper and printing costs; it can help save the environment, too. Start realizing these benefits and reduce your carbon footprint by reaching out to Gordon Flesch for a free, no obligation consultation today.