Reducing Waste: Toner/Ink Cartridges

Used toner and printer cartridges represent another significant source of waste for electronics and office supplies. It is estimated that over 350 million toner/ink cartridges are entering landfills in the United States (US) each year. This is an environmental concern for multiple reasons:

1. The production of new toner/ink cartridges consumes oil and causes high emissions of carbon dioxide.

2. The toner/ink in printer cartridges contains chemicals harmful to humans and the environment (e.g., butyl urea, cyclohexanone, and ethylene-diamine-tetra-acetic acid (EDTA)).

3. The disposal of toner/ink cartridges adds several tons of plastic waste to landfills annually. This is unfortunate since about 97% of the material used in toner/ink cartridges is recyclable.

The main issue is that many of us (including myself) like to purchase aftermarket single-use printer and copier cartridges that are essentially clones of name brand cartridges (referred to as clone compatible) and are, therefore, compatible with most name brand printers. These clone compatible cartridges are widely available at substantially lowers costs on online selling platforms such as Amazon. The problem is that unlike name-brand cartridges, clone compatible cartridges cannot be remanufactured and reused. Alternatively, name brand mono-toner/ink cartridges can be remanufactured an average of approximately 3 to 4 times. Purchasing a cartridge that can be, or already has been, remanufactured and reused reduces waste (particularly plastic and the disposal of hazardous chemicals) and lowers the carbon emissions compared to the production of new cartridges. In fact, it is estimated that carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the production of a remanufactured toner/ink cartridge is about 46% less than that of a new cartridge.

More details about the process of remanufacturing toner/ink cartridges can be found in the following video by a organization named Planet Green Recycle:

As can be seen in the video, Planet Green Recycle has collected, and thus prevented, a vast number of used cartridges from entering the landfills. Planet Green Recycle can also help reduce the purchase of single-use and "counterfeit' remanufactured cartridges.

Hints & Habits

Two steps you can take towards reducing waste from used toner/ink cartridges can be accomplished through Planet Green Recycle:

1. Purchase compatible toner/ink cartridges that are remanufactured in the US through Planet Green Recycle.

2. Recycle used cartridges using the Planet Green Recycle free mail-in recycling service.