Healthier Planet: Why your business should recycle ink cartridges

According to Energy Central, one million printer cartridges are thrown away per day - that's 11 cartridges per second. As plastics in printer cartridges are made from engineering grade polymer, they can take anywhere between 450 to 1000 years to decompose – so the importance of recycling them is paramount.

Recycling printer cartridges doesn't need to be difficult and plenty of printing retailers, such as Toner Giant, detail how you can do so on their sites, making it easier than ever.

As a business, you are likely to work your way through a number of printer cartridges per year. The quantity will depend on your company type and printing needs, so will vary from business to business, but it is a good idea for you to have a recycling plan in place for these and other office items.

There are a few reasons why your business should make a conscious effort to recycle your printer cartridges, some of which may benefit you.

It is completely free

Not only is it simple, but it doesn't cost you anything to recycle your printer cartridges. There are plenty of sites that allow you to send your used cartridges to them via Freepost and they then do the rest of the work for you.

When it's this easy, there really is no reason not to recycle your empty cartridges.

You could make money

Printer cartridges are not cheap so if we told you that you could make some money back by recycling your used ones, would you do it? There are several sites online offering cash for used cartridges so be sure to shop around for the best deals as different sites pay out different amounts.

You will be doing your part to help the environment

By recycling used printer cartridges, you will have a positive impact on the environment in many ways. Recycling stops them heading to landfills, which reduces the number of harmful materials ending up in landfill sites. For example, ink can often leak from old cartridges and have a detrimental effect on the surrounding environment.

If your cartridges are recycled it lowers the need for the manufacturing of new cartridges and, in turn, reduces the need for raw materials such as water, oil, and minerals.

It makes your business look good

Not only is it the right thing to do, it's also a positive thing for your business to shout about.

More than half of UK businesses are pushing to increase their spend on sustainability according to The Telegraph, with 66% of those looking to improve their internal practices.

With the rise in green businesses, it is key to keep up with your competitors and their ethics to keep yourself relevant and in line with growing ethical concerns.

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