Printer Cartridge Recycling – How To Recycle Ink and Toner Cartridges

Cartridge Recycling

Toner recycling is the latest raw material to make its way into the recycling chain. From paper to rubber, to tin — the practice of recycling materials back into their raw state originated hundreds of years, prior to The Revolutionary War. 

The goal of classic recycling is to convert waste products into new products by reacquiring the original properties of the source material. Paper can be re-pulped and turned back into new paper products. Recycled metal can be melted down, purified, and re-poured, or pressed.

But modern e-waste recycling has the dual purpose of both conserving resources and keeping harmful electronic components out of landfills.

Electronic components contain lead, mercury, cadmium, phosphors, and other potentially harmful compounds.

You can’t dump old electronics in landfills because it may contaminate the groundwater or soil, and you can’t crush or burn them, because those harmful chemicals could pollute the atmosphere. 

E-waste must be properly recycled… and that includes your ink and toner cartridges!

Why Recycling Printer Cartridges Is Important

Recycling printer cartridges is important because the materials used to make ink and toner cartridges can be harmful to human health and the environment.

We’ve finally learned the true cost of electronic waste. Printer cartridges are made of a complex blend of plastic, metal, foam, ink, and toner. As a result, these components cannot easily be separated.

You can’t toss empty printer cartridges in with standard paper and plastic recycling. 

However, don’t toss them in the trash either.

Fortunately, nearly 100% of printer cartridge materials can be recycled. This greatly reduces airborne pollutants. (Pssst! If you get ink or toner on your hands, we’ll tell you how to clean it off!)

Facts & Stats About Printer Cartridges Recycling

The numbers are staggering when it comes to printer cartridge recycling. So much is wasted every day.

Check out these eye-popping facts and figures:

• Approximately 375 million printer cartridges are tossed in the trash every year.  
• Eight ink cartridges are trashed each second in the U.S.
• A laser printer cartridge takes up to 450 years to decompose. 
• The industrial-grade plastics used in printer cartridge manufacturing take over a thousand years to decompose.
• One of the most toxic forms of waste is electronic waste, or e-waste.
• Each new toner cartridge requires about one gallon of oil to manufacture. Recycling printer cartridges can potentially save millions of gallons of crude oil each year!
• Approximately 1.3 billion inkjet cartridges are used around the world annually, but less than 30% of them are properly recycled. 
• If you stacked all of the empty printer cartridges generated each year end-to-end, they would circle the earth twice.

How To Recycle Printer Cartridges

Now, after we know how critical is printer cartridge recycling and how cartridge components can be harmful to the environment, new questions unfold:

What do you do with your old printer cartridges? How do you properly recycle them?

Surprisingly, recycling printer cartridges is not difficult.

You can easily recycle your printer cartridges for money, charity, or just for the well being of the planet and its future generations by taking a few simple steps.

There are different ways to recycle your used ink and toner cartridges:

• Manufacturer Lead Recycle Programs
• Mail-in Recycle Programs
• Office Supply Store Recycle Programs

Let’s see how these different recycling programs work.

Manufacturer Lead Programs

These programs are created by the printer and cartridge manufacturers themselves.

Most major manufacturers offer free take-back programs. Some even cover the cost of postage.

Click below to learn more about the printer cartridge recycling programs of specific printer manufacturers:

• HP collects empty water bottles and plastic hangers, recycling them to make new ink and toner cartridges. You can also conveniently recycle your HP ink and toner with HP Planet Partners Supplies Recycling Program.
• Brother reuses packing boxes to ship and return used cartridges.
• Lexmark offers free and easy cartridge recycling since 1991. 
• Canon offers free inkjet cartridge returns.
• Canon Toner has been recycled since 1990, the first company to collect and recycle used copier toner cartridges.
• The Xerox Green World Alliance has kept more than 145 million pounds of waste out of landfills over the last two decades. 
• Okidata‘s partnership with COREFIDO allows you to recycle Oki toner cartridges, image drums, transfer belts, and users. 
• Panasonic partners with third-party recyclers to handle its vast array of electronic products. 
• Ricoh will recycle your old ink and toner cartridges, as well as toner bottles. 
• Samsung supports producer responsibility and responsible recycling.
• Sharp offers free bulk shipping to recycle your toner cartridges. 
• Dell partnered with FedEx to deliver its free mail-back recycling program.

Non-Manufacturer Mail-Back Programs

In addition to manufacturer lead recycling programs, there are also non-manufacturer mail-back programs.

Cash4Toners is a great resource for selling your surplus toner cartridges for cash. 

While some companies provide pre-paid mailing labels and offer cashback for your empty cartridges, Cash4Toners pays both free shipping and top dollar for your surplus toner!

Office Supply Retailers

Don’t want to mail your empties back?

You can always visit your nearest office supply store. Most offer their own cartridge recycling program.

Also, you can recycle your empty printer cartridges at almost any Staples, Office Depot, or other major office supply store. Some major retailers, such as Walgreens, refill empty cartridges.

Learn more about recycling printer cartridges at office supply stores here.

Let’s now discuss everything in detail:

Ink Cartridge Recycling

Got an inkjet printer? What to do with the old ink cartridges? 

Above, we discussed printer cartridge recycling in general. However, not all printer cartridges are the same.

There are ink cartridges for inkjet printers and toner cartridges for laser printers.

(Learn more about the difference between ink and toner here)

Let’s first look at how to recycle ink cartridges.

Where To Recycle Ink Cartridges

Where should you recycle your inkjet cartridges?

Frankly, the best place to recycle ink cartridges is whatever is most convenient for you.

You can recycle your ink cartridges in the following ways:

• Drop your inkjet cartridges off at any office supply store, like Staples or Office Depot 
• Recycle your empty cartridges at designated kiosks at Walmart, Target, and Best Buy
• Mail your empty ink cartridges back to the original manufacturer 
• Recycle with a third-party recycling facility
• Drop your inkjet cartridges off at your local recycling center

Recycle Ink Cartridges by Mail

Ink cartridges can be recycled by mail.

Most major manufacturers will pay the cost of shipping. It is helpful to keep the box or carton that your ink or toner cartridges came in since it can be used to mail your empty cartridges back to the manufacturer for recycling.

Recycling by mail is a convenient option for many, especially in the age of COVID quarantines!

Another benefit of recycling by mail is the security of knowing your empty ink cartridges will be properly recycled by the original manufacturer or an equally qualified cartridge refurbisher. 

A detailed analysis of each manufacturer’s mail-in recycling program is covered below.

Visit the website of your ink cartridge manufacturer for more information about recycling ink cartridges by mail.

Ink Recycling Programs

The biggest ink cartridges recycling programs are run by the printer manufacturers.