Every year, thousands, if not millions, of empty toner and ink cartridges are thrown in the trash. Carelessly throwing these cartridges can be harmful to the environment. Most people are recycling; however, not many are doing it. It’s time to put awareness; it’s time to think green.
Recycling is easy; it is profitable and beneficial to the environment since it helps reduce solid waste. It reduces usage of raw materials, energy, and air and water pollution. Most of these cartridges are recycled up to six times and resold to customers.
There are a lot of ways to recycle and we will tackle the most common type of ink and toner cartridges recycling methods.
- Donate to Charity
There are tons of charities that accept empty ink and toner cartridges. You can search them online. You can also consider local organizations but be sure to contact them first before sending them the cartridges.
Since ink leaks out during shipment, ink cartridges must be packed in a sealed plastic. Meanwhile, toner cartridges can be placed in a plastic or garbage bag individually before wrapping them with recyclable materials such as newspaper or old paper bags in a corrugated cardboard box.
- Sell for Cash
If you want to earn some extra cash, you can sell those empty ink and toner cartridges.Like Donating to Charity, one can search the internet for organizations that buys used cartridges. There are many companies that are willing to pay. These companies are geared for a business that uses a great amount of toner and ink cartridges. Each organization accepts certain types of printer cartridges so be sure to check their list before you send your package. They will not pay you if any of your empty cartridges are not on their list, others even charge a penalty so be sure to check it well.
- DIY Projects
Do It Yourself commonly known as DIY is a method of creating, repairing or modifying something on your own. All you need is a set of materials for your desired project and creativity. You can search online for DIY projects; there are a lot of tutorials and ideas that you can choose. Just let your imagination flow. It’s a cost-saving and it can also be a type of recreation. After all, it’s fun to build something on your own.
Other than the 3 methods that are mentioned above, there are still lots of ways you can recycle empty ink and toner cartridges. Information about these can now be accessed by internet. You just need to look for a type of recycling method that you want. The possibilities are endless, one just needs to explore. You might think that recycling your empty cartridges is just a small thing that is not even worth your time; however, if all of us do these little steps, it can be a one big action that can save our deterring environment. Now is the time to take action, now is the time to THINK GREEN.