Even with movements like PAPERLESS and GREEN it seems like to do anything, anything at all as a business, industry, or modern techno-dependant individual, you need ink and toner, and you need lots of it. Schools and business seem to feel this squeeze the most as huge amounts of ink and paper are used and, unfortunately, often wasted. However, private citizens feel this black terror as well as printers break and cartridges go empty left and right. Often people will save these empty cases, but will leave them in boxes, unsure what to do with them. Others throw them into the plastic recycling, or worse, throw them straight to the garbage. This is a tragic waste as much can be done wit these empty cartridges. The modern age will continue to demand ink and empty ink and toner cartridges, fortunately, modern toner cartridges are easier than ever to install, use, and recycle—if you know how.
Every type of printer is different and each have very different cartridges. Some are, understandably, easier to recharge and refurbish than others but any cartridge should be able to be recycled, sometimes even for a profit but always for the good of the environment. For instance, Dell toner cartridges are very often reused due to a successful program the company has implemented. In this system anyone who buys or uses dell ink and toner can pack up their toner cartridges and use the dell website to print a free shipping slip. Then fedex will take the cartridge back to Dell to be reused—at no cost to the owner! Not only is the environment helped and improved, but the company has the advantage of reusing old material, giving them a practical reason to push for these eco-friendly programs.
Brother toner cartridges can be recycled much the same way. When you have finished with any Brother toner or ink cartridge just visit their website to access a free shipping label. With it you can send your old cartridge away at no cost to yourself and rest confident that you have supported a profitable printing company, keeping costs lower for yourself and others, as well as supporting the environment in a very real and significant way. That so many large printing corporations are willing to go this extra mile to support the environment and recycling is an uplifting state of affairs. However, if you need yet another reason to look to recycle those old cartridges, how does profit sound?
Because used up cartridges are actually quite valuable and can be refilled quite easily there are numerous websites and organizations which actually pay individuals to send them old printing cartridges. These are carefully cleaned, refilled, and tested so they work up to the level that they did to begin with. Then they are sold, often as so called generic brand cartridges. These usually work up to the level of the real thing, and are much cheaper than first-use replacements. With websites giving out between four and twenty dollars a pop for these used up shells, throwing them away just begins to seem silly. Also an entire industry has grown up around the theory that ink by itself is much cheaper than cartridges. While discount cartridges are probably a cleaner and equally thrifty choice, it is possible to buy high end refill kits yourself, allowing you to fill up those old cartridges as many times as you need too, laughing at those who spend dozens or hundred of dollars a year to print out directions, recipes, notes, and pictures.
Still another option, and more philanthropic option, for your ink and toner cartridges involves donating them. Thousands of libraries will take ink and toner cartages and will recycle them for profit, helping to boost their endowment and ensure that no more libraries close. Schools as well will gladly take them, giving you the satisfaction that your would be junk is going to help educate and support the educational system and the children under its wing. While personal profit and environmental protection are wonderful, what can compare to donating to help students learn and to keep libraries open? Throwing away toner cartridges is a true waste and one that is entirely unnecessary with the vast systems now in place to deal with them, recycle and reuse them, and turn them to the benefit of society as a whole. Even if it takes a short drive to the local library, or some time to package the cartridge to be shipped out and reused, that time is well spent and that cartridge will have a much longer and much more useful lifespan because of you.