Do you know anything about printer cartridge recycling? Well, we all know that manufacturing processes can result in both air and water pollution. That’s one reason why recycling has become popular in Australia, because it reduces harm to the environment. Another reason is that recycling also reduces the amount of waste that’s sent to landfills, which if not managed correctly can also lead to pollution of our waterways.
This brings us to printer cartridge recycling, because in landfills it takes up to 450 years for these cartridges to decompose and we have seen estimates of up to 1000 years. In the meantime the cartridges break down into small plastic particles and eventually carbon and other toxins that can be harmful to the environment and our wildlife.
So printer cartridge recycling is important to our environment and wildlife, but what people do with their empty printer cartridges – isn’t always best for our environment.
What people do with their empty printer cartridges
We know that less than 30% of the 1.5 billion printer cartridges used every year around the world are actually recycled. What we don’t know, however, is whether these cartridges are placed in standard recycling bins or specific bins designed to collect empty printer cartridges.
This is important because the recycling process is different for printer cartridges than it is for general plastics, due to the toxins involved. So what people do with their empty printer cartridges is important to the environment and we encourage everyone to recycle appropriately.
Unfortunately, despite around a third of cartridges being recycled in some way, we know that most people still discard them in the rubbish where they end up in landfills. Then there’s a small number of people who support printer cartridge recycling by refilling their empty cartridges, helping to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills.
What happens during printer cartridge recycling?
Printer cartridge recycling breaks down the product into its component parts: steel, aluminium, plastics, toners and ink. The metals can be reused to manufacture appliances and food tins, whilst the clean plastics can be used to make biros, decking and fencing, and ink can be reused in biros or sold as recycled inks. Even residual toner can be used on roads when mixed with asphalt.
Where do you take it to be recycled?
Knowing where you can take it to be recycled makes recycling these cartridges much easier. In Australia, you can take your empty cartridges to Officeworks, who have collected more than 10 million ink and toner cartridges through their partnership with Planet Ark and Close the Loop.
Printer cartridge recycling is also offered by Australia Post, The Good Guys, JB Hi-Fi and other major outlets. All you need to do is to just pop the empty cartridge into their recycling box and when it’s full, it will most likely be collected by someone affiliated with the ‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’ program, who have already prevented 56 million printer cartridges from going to landfills in Australia.
So the next time your printer cartridge is empty, consider recycling it and help to save our planet!
If you need help selecting the right cartridge for your printer, don’t hesitate to send us an email enquiry or call us on 1300 465 725.
