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3 Ways To Recycle Your Toner Cartridge

Russell Schneider | Jun 6, 2011 |

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Toner cartridges are some of the least-recycled products that we use in electronics today. This is especially bad because a toner cartridge contains many things that are unhealthy to the environment if improperly discarded, and also because people simply do not know that they can save money by going more green and recycling their toner cartridge. The toner cartridge is, quite simply, too expensive of an investment to misuse, and too dangerous of an environmental concern to even think of using at anything less than its absolute maximum capacity. The article will detail 3 ways to recycle your toner cartridge so that you can get the most out of your investment and leave the smallest electronic footprint possible.

The First Way To Recycle Your Toner Cartridge

The first way to recycle your toner cartridges not only helps the environment, but it also saves you money as well: simply refill the cartridge. "Cartridge World" is one franchise which refills toner cartridges for a nominal fee. Sometimes, the process is even easier than that. You simply turn in your empty toner cartridges and you receive full toner cartridges of the same style. They take care of the disposing of the old toner cartridges, and guarantee the printing quality of your new replaced or refurbished toner cartridges. Some toner cartridges can also be "recharged." This is a relatively new technology, but some of the newer printers require cartridges that have this feature installed. Be sure to check your toner cartridges' packaging to see if you have one of the many types of toner cartridges that can be recharged.

The research done on the amount of impact that refilling or recharging printer cartridges has is astounding. By many estimates, 8 printer cartridges are thrown out per second in the United States, and it takes an entire gallon of oil to make a new cartridge. Also, if you help to remanufacture a cartridge, you help save a full 3.5 pounds of waste from entering a landfill. If you do not want to trek all the way down to the store to get your toner cartridges refilled, you can also consider purchasing a home toner refill kit, which research has shown pays for itself within the first refill.

The Second Way To Recycle Your Toner Cartridge

A second way to recycle your toner cartridges, and which also has benefits for you, is to trade your used cartridges in for cash. There are many businesses, including "Freerecycling," which allow you to trade in your old toner cartridges for cash, and will even pay for your shipping if you have enough old toner cartridges. You can also mail your old toner cartridges in for recycling with a government-subsidized plan which allows for free shipping of your old toner cartridges. However, since you can actually get money for recycling old toner cartridges to private businesses, save the government option as a last resort.

There are other retail businesses which will accept back their own printer cartridges, but not those of their competitors or from other printing companies. Make sure to check on the back of your ink cartridges' packaging to see if you can return your old toner cartridges directly back to the store you bought them from. Some of these stores give discounts on new products if you bring back your old toner cartridges.

The Third Way To Recycle Your Toner Cartridge

The third way to recycle your old toner cartridges is also of great benefit to you. If you simply buy remanufactured toner cartridges, you not only save 80% of the energy that it would take to manufacture a new one, but you also save yourself money and the hassle of worrying about if the new ink toner will work in your printer. A remanufactured printing cartridge is one that has been fully collected, sorted, dismantled, cleaned, refilled and repackaged for retail sale. Remanufactured toner cartridges are filled with brand new ink and toner to ensure top-quality printing.

There are few office supplies more useful than a good quality toner cartridge. However, it is important to keep in mind that returning your toner cartridges to the manufacturer for them to dispose of properly will save the environment almost 60% of the damage that that toner cartridge would have done otherwise. We only have one planet, and we don't want to ink it to death! So be sure to recycle and reuse your toner cartridges as much as possible to protect both your wallet and your environment.