Over 13 printer ink cartridges are disposed of in the U.S. every second. This translates to 780 every minute, which makes 46,800 an hour. At that rate, by the end of a year, there will have been over 400 million printer cartridges added to landfills across the country.

That’s 400 million pieces of plastic that can take up to 1,000 years to completely degrade. Luckily, it’s very easy to cut down on this type of wasteful behavior. First off, some inkjet cartridges can be used more than once with the purchase of a refill kit. If this seems too messy, take your empty cartridges to nearby drop-off centers so that they can be reused by others. This includes cartridges from copiers and faxes too.

Some companies will take printer ink cartridges back free of charge. One of these companies includes Hewlett-Packard. They provide mailers or labels for you to ship your HP printer ink cartridges back to be recycled or refurbished.

Remanufactured printer ink cartridges use about half the amount of oil needed to make brand new ones, so your best bet is to purchase reused ink cartridges from the onset.

Most printer cartridges can be recycled up to six times and are guaranteed to work just as well as new ones, given the manufacturer. If you’re having trouble, just take a look in the box of your printer ink jet cartridge and there should be instructions on how to recycle it properly.

Perhaps the easiest way to find a recycling location is to search the Internet for organizations that accept used cartridges in exchange for cash. Most sites offer pre-paid shipping or pickup of used cartridges, and some compensate up to $4 per cartridge.

Turn the job of recycling your printer ink jet cartridge into an event. Recycling used cartridges makes for a great fundraising idea for schools, church groups, charities, high school sports teams, and other non-profit organizations. Further, it can be a significant cost savings for businesses.

Here is a list of some recycling sites that you can contact when it comes time to recycle that printer ink jet. Some will even give you the option to either take cash for your empty cartridges, or you can donate the proceeds to a charity of your choice.

www.ecyclegroup.com
www.recycle4charity.org
www.freerecycling.com

Whichever method you choose, be sure to get on board today! The earth was never intended to be covered in plastic. Since we’re the ones covering it up, we’re the ones who have to fix the problem. Take the time to help. It’ll make for a healthier world for all of us.