With all of the talk about the green movement and all the new technology available to consumers, it is a shame not to do toner cartridge recycling after they have lived their useful lifespan in your printer.
Ink cartridges for printers are a necessary product, as they have helped consumers do something that the inventors of the printing press could never do: print documents in ones own home. Never before in history have such amenities been available to the public for such a small cost. However, just because we are lucky and live in an age where printing technology and consumable costs have become affordable for the average consumer, we can not forget that there is an environmental impact to our usage.
Government estimates that for every piece of plastic manufactured, recycling that same plastic can re-input up to 70% of its value back into energy savings. Recycling plastic can also ensure that landfill pollution and water contamination do not come into play, either. Toner cartridges are almost always made of plastic and may even house electronic components that communicate with the printer as well as residual ink. Clearly, recycling these consumables makes the earth a happier planet.
Since many consumers of toner cartridges are firms that use documentation in internal and external usage, businesses can have a huge impact on the environmental problems associated with ink cartridges. Estimates show that over 350 million cartridges are put into landfills each year. Clearly, both businesses and consumers help fill our landfills with these plastics that do not go away once planted in the landfills.
When your ink cartridge runs out, do not trash it. Put it aside for your next visit to the computer store, since you probably need to buy new toner anyway. When you visit the store, ask most clerks in the printing or computing departments about recycling the toner the earth will thank you for your efforts. To recycle a toner cartridge not only makes sense, but it is the right thing to do.