I was visiting my mom’s apartment last week and she wondered if I could put in a new HP 78 ink jet cartridge on her Hewlett Packard printer. That was simple for me . My mom is 82 and doesn’t have much experience with computers . But to my dismay, she was just going to place the old inkjet cartridge into the garbage . ” I think you should recycle that ,” I told her. “That takes too much time,” was her reply.
What’s sad is that this kind of feeling about this is identical to most people’s attitude. We live in a busy, world.. Most people are willing to recycle things as long as it is easy. If the trash firm you use provides a large bin to store your recycling in , you’ll probably do it. If you have to haul it somewhere or mail it in, many tend not to make the effort. Recycling needs to be made easy for the consumer .
Now we always buy refurbished cheap Epson printer ink from online stores.
Currently , bubble jet computer printers and copiers are a the devices we inherit . Just about every home in America has a printer, and the most widely used ones use some type of replaceable ink jet container or toner cartridge. When people just throw those away, they go into our dumps and will stay there practically forever , and will soon leak carcinogenic substances back into the earth.
So how do you recycle inkjet cartridges responsibly? The best way is to find a local church organization that recycles them. They earn a little bit of money for each inkjet cartridge , so you give them a small donation , while they send them in to recycling centers that refurbish them and then retail them as refurbished inkjet cartridges. This saves a lot of money and keeps the plastic in use and out of our dumps .
If you normally buy brand-name inkjet cartridges like Kodak , Samsung , Brother or Lexmark , make certain you do some due diligence prior to taking part in in their so-called recycling programs. Recent investigations have exposed that many of the big name toner and ink cartridge makers simplify sending your cartridges back to them, but they do not recycle them. Instead they destroy the cartridges by incinerating them so that they won’t dilute the market . This helps them sell more of their own brand new cartridges because they will make a lot more money that way. That’s not responsible stewardship – so make sure you do your homework beforehand .
Saving the earth isn’t the only good thing that comes with recycling used up ink cartridges. You can also save a good chunk of money. Original brand printer cartridges cost around 40 dollars apiece if you buy them new . Recycled ink cartridges can save you up to 65%. Those kinds of savings can add up fast for small and large businesses. My small business uses Xerox Phaser 8400 solid ink sticks that produces really nice printed doucuments. Unfortunatley the ink is too coslty. But we save more than $200 a year buying the refurbished cartridges.The neat thing is that you can also cut down on solid waste and even help out a local charity (if you donate your cartridges to a local cause for recycling) while you are saving money. That’s a win-win-win situation any way you think about it.
Those who have a multi-purpose all in one printer or anyone who is in a position of purchasing printer or copier consumables at their office should research an economically sound inkjet recycling program. If everyone contributes, it can help save our environment. In addition you will be saving money. It require a bit more of your time, but it is the right thing to do.