Three Ways Recycling Toner Cartridges Helps the Environment

Copiers and printers are a must for every business, no matter what. We all need to print documents and make copies to run a business. Each year, businesses generate 375 million cartridges of waste, and many of them end up in landfills worldwide. Over 375 million! Every day, there are more than a million cartridges used. That means there are eleven cartridges used every second. If that wasn't bad enough, it could take up to 1,000 years for a print cartridge to fully break down in the trash.

There are specific places where you can recycle toner cartridges. The cartridge parts that aren't reusable are disposed of properly. Components that can be reused are processed and added back into the production process. Often, businesses don't know how to recycle the cartridges they use. People who use Fraser's Green Toner Recycling Program get free, pre-paid shipping labels from the company. To get rid of used cartridges, just put them in a box and mail them. There is no way it could be easier! If your company does a lot of business with pallets, you can even have them picked up. Get in touch with our Smart Connect team for more information.

We all ask ourselves at the end of the day: why should we recycle our ink and toner cartridges? Throw them in the trash. Here are three excellent reasons to have a toner recycling program.

• Keep waste out of landfills. As we said before, toner and ink cartridges don't break down quickly in a landfill. It takes about a thousand years for the cartridges to return to their original state again. 375 million printer cartridges are ending up in landfills, and it takes a long time for them to break down. The sheer amount of waste alone is enough to make you want to recycle. Limited landfill space causes huge issues for cities when it comes to trash. Those areas are shipping their garbage to landfills in other places, which causes a lot of CO2. By recycling your printer cartridges, you can keep landfills from getting too full and clean the air by not putting them in the trash.
• Save money. You know that empty toner cartridges are a waste of money and space. But did you know there's another statistic that will make your head spin: It takes three quarts of oil to manufacture a new laser toner cartridge. Cars need five to eight quarts of oil, depending on how big the engine is. So for quick math, let's say that the oil it takes to make two new laser cartridges could power a car for 3,000-5,000 miles. With oil prices soaring at an alarming rate due to the war in Ukraine and inflation, finding ways to spend less on gas and oil is critical. It could save 11 million gallons of oil if you recycled all of your used inkjet and laser cartridges for just seven months, says A Greener Refill. 
• Lower the cost of toner. Because of toner recycling programs, ink companies can make new toner cartridges out of old ones. Manufacturers spend a lot less time and money producing new toners when they remanufacture the cartridges. In turn, remanufactured toner products cost less when you need new toner. We all want to save money, and remanufactured toner can help businesses save money by cutting costs.

These are just a few ways to recycle ink and toner cartridges to help the planet. If your business is interested in learning more about how you can start recycling your toner cartridges, look at our Green Toner Recycling Program. It gives people who join the program a certificate of participation and a report on their progress every year. The information includes an impact summary showing how many toner cartridges your company recycled and statements demonstrating how your company is reducing its impact on the environment.