How To Recycle Ink Cartridges

August 30, 2018 by InkRecycling.org Team

Are you here to learn how to recycle?

Over 350 million ink cartridges are thrown away every year adding to our nation’s landfills. That is approximately 30 million per month, and almost 1 million per day! When you break it down, you can see how much empty ink is accumulating. This is a worldwide issue. The average print cartridge contains dangerous plastics and polymers that can take 500 to 1000 years to decompose! These chemicals accumulate over time and show up on our lands and in our water. However, there is a way to help reduce the amount of ink cartridges thrown away.

Most consumers throw away their empty ink cartridges when they have to replace them. It is important to understand that when an ink cartridge is ready to be replaced, a small portion of ink is still left inside. The printer cartridges that you’re used to throwing away still have many poisonous chemicals inside them.

There are two main choices for keeping printer cartridges out of landfills: recycling and refilling them.

REFILLING

You have the option to refill your ink cartridges, You can take your ink cartridges to a retailer like staples or office depot and they will refill the cartridges for a small fee, saving you some money in the short term. Refilling them on your own is easy:

• Put on rubber gloves to prevent getting ink on your hands.
• Follow the directions included with the kit to determine how exactly to fill your cartridges.
• Buy a printer cartridge refill kit at an office supply store or from an online retailer.
• Remove the printer cartridge and locate the two refill holes or toner refill port, which might be under the label.
• After you're done. Reseal your cartridge