The Necessity Of Ink Cartridge Recycling

All the processes of refilling old ink cartridges and selling them back to the public as refurbished have collectively come to be called ink cartridge recycling. These processes are important in that they prevent environmental and health damage done by the disposal of ink cartridges in the garbage as well as save enormous amounts of money spent on preparation of new cartridges. By sad chance, at this time less than 18 % ink cartridge material is being recycled. For this reason, ink cartridge recycling is being emphasized and many recycling companies offer up to ten dollars for recycling an empty ink cartridge.

Why Recycle Ink Cartridges?

Health, environment, and sustainability all demand the recycling of empty ink cartridges. Some of the important facts and statistics that speak for recycling cartridges are listed here.

Disposing ink cartridges into garbage can cause great harm to environment and miniature life. It has been studied that the plastics used in inkjet cartridges can take over ten centuries to decompose naturally. Acute health hazards associated with unsafe disposal of ink cartridges include irritation, redness, and swelling of skin; irritation of eyes; stomach upset (if the harmful material is ingested); irritation of the respiratory tract (in case of prolonged inhalation). Most importantly, carbon black has been classified as carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. More than three quarts of oil are consumed in producing each new laser cartridge. For manufacturing a new inkjet cartridge, about three ounces of oil are required. Recycling helps lower this cost to a considerable degree. An estimated quantity of over 11 million gallons of oil can be saved in only seven months by ink cartridge recycling. In North America, more than 40,000 tons of plastic and metal is saved from landfills annually as a result of cartridge recycling. For every 100,000 used cartridges recycled, we can save 9599 kilograms of aluminum, 40 tons of plastic, and 1 000 000 liters of oil. Ink cartridge recycling has virtually become synonymous with successful sustainable development. The Process Of Recycling The process of recycling comprises returning empty ink cartridges to the recycling company. These cartridges are usually separated into their component materials and then recycled. While cartridge recycling is free and even wins the consumer a few bucks, recycling hardware as discarded printers can cost the consumer a small shipping and handling fee.

Some Major Ink Cartridge Recycling Programs

Some of the major recycling programs for ink cartridges/hardware include the Canon Recycling Program, Epson Recycling Program, Hewlett-Packard Recycling Program, Lexmark Recycling Program, and Xerox Recycling Program.