Environmental Impact of Recycling Ink and Toner Cartridges

The idea of going green is very popular, and one of the most important things an individual or business can do.

Ink and toner cartridges are made of plastic, if they are put into a landfill it can take between 500 to 1000 years for it to decay.  Eventually, there may not be much space for the nearly 300 million cartridges that are used in the United States every year. When the ink and toner cartridges are recycled, they do not end up wasting away in a landfill. Creating less waste to dispose of is only one of the beneficial environmental impacts that come from using the recycled cartridges.

Another benefit to using recycled cartridges is less energy is used to make them. Plants that make the new cartridges require energy to create their products. Not only is energy expended to make the cartridge, each new cartridges have oil in the plastic. The average cartridge requires 3.5 ounces of oil in it. When that number is multiplied by the 300 million cartridges used in the United States it amounts to over 65 million gallons of oil every year.

Recycling ink and toner cartridges can have a tremendous impact on the environment. Since 97% of the material in the cartridges can be recycled, it means that there is less waste in the landfills, less energy is being consumed and there is less pollution put into the air by the plants that have to make new cartridges. It is another good example of how everyone can go green.