How to Safely Recycle Ink and Toner

Printers are essential office accessories, so you must know how to safely recycle ink and toner cartridges. You don’t have to throw away finished ink and toner cartridges in the trash as that causes harm to the environment. These electronic consumables contain harmful compounds, including mercury, lead, phosphors, and cadmium.

Ink and toner cartridges are everyday consumables in offices and homes. When used up, the cartridges often end up in landfills. Over 350 million ink cartridges get buried in landfills annually. Unfortunately, they contaminate the soil or groundwater. Recycling cartridges can mitigate the risks they bring to the environment and human health.

Here are the recycling options for ink or toner empty cartridges.

Bring it to Your Local Office Supply Store

You can also get cartridge recycling programs in supply stores such as Staples or Office Depot. Most stores with big names, like Target, Best Buy, and Costco, offer recycling programs. They have secure bins for collecting cartridges, making it convenient to dispose of your used printer ink cartridges. Besides, the bins reduce human contact.

Check With Your Recycling Center

Most cities and townships have recycling facilities for printer ink cartridges. Check if your town or city offers a printer recycling program. Visit their official website to get specific cartridge recycling locations and recycle your printer there. You can explore other recycling options if there’s no local recycling facility near you. 

Look into Charities

You may also donate used cartridges to charity programs. Some non-profit programs may give you money as a thank-you gift to recycle your empty cartridges. Cartridges for Kids is an excellent example of a charity program that supports printer recycling programs. Recycle4Charity also has a great mission and integrity to recycle cartridges.

Recycle With Platinum Copiers

Now that you know how to safely recycle ink and toner cartridges, you should be on the frontline to protect the environment from the unhealthy disposal of used cartridges. 

Contact us today for reliable printing solutions, including managed print services.