Why shouldn't you throw away ink cartridges?

Why should I recycle my empty cartridges? Why is it my responsibility? Surely it can't have the much of an impact on the environment? 

These are all questions we've asked ourselves at one time or another, especially in today's digital age. Most business and households will have a  printer in one form or another and each of those will require at least 2 ink cartridges at the very least and most will actually have 4. There are some extremes where real top end printers take 5 or 6 individual cartridges. 

Each of those cartridges will run out so they will need to be disposed of, responsibly of course. I find it difficult to actually visualise the amount of cartridges purchased and the number that are actually recycled. 

Ink Cartridge Facts

• More than 1.1 billion ink cartridges are used around the world each year

• Stack each of those end on end and that would be 129 times longer than the Great Wall of China

• More than 65 million ink cartridges are sold in the UK alone each year and roughly 15% are that figure are recycled

• Up to 3 pints of oil are used to manufacture new cartridges

• The plastic itself can take up to 1,000 years to decompose

That's less than 9 million ink cartridges being recycled and reused each year and over 56 million going to landfill. 

These figures alone should tempt you in to buying recycled ink cartridges though I have also asked the question, is it worth buying genuine ink cartridges in another of my blog posts, if you'd like to  find out more give it a read.

Environmental Impact

There is already an unsustainable amount dumped in landfill each year and each cartridge that doesn't get recycled will end up there. The cartridge itself is made up of materials including plastic, metal and ink, of which all are harmful to the environment if they end up in landfill. 

Let's just consider the plastic and how harmful that is. It can take almost 1,000 years to decompose and all the while it's sat there any residual ink will be leaking out and damaging the surrounding soil and water.

Before any of this has happened of course there is a manufacturer process that involves the consumption of oil and metals, our planets natural resources. The more ink cartridges thrown away the more of this process happens and therefore the more of the planets dwindling natural resources are used.

Residual ink leaking isn't just a danger to the soil and water around it when in landfill, it's also a danger any local wildlife and could potentially enter our food chain, which poses a health risk.

Money Money Money

From a financial standpoint, chucking away ink cartridges is a waste of money. I'm all for recycling ink cartridges and pretty much any empty cartridge can be cleaned, refilled and sold on again. This whole process is far cheaper than making new cartridges.

It's also possible to recoup some of the original purchase cost by selling your empty cartridges to companies such as  The Recycling Factory or Printer Cartridge Recycling. Companies such as these also work with charities to raise money for them so there is always the option to donate to a good cause. 

Doesn't that just make being part of the recycled ink cartridge life cycle even more worthwhile!

You can find  more detailed recycling information here.

Business Responsibility 

Many of the big ink cartridge manufacturers such as HP recognised the need to be more environmentally conscious. Many introduced their own form of recycling programs to ensure empty ink cartridges are properly dealt with and to ensure they are supporting corporate responsibility and sustainability efforts.

My Final Thoughts

Putting your empty ink cartridges in the bin always feels like the easy option but I've done my best to explain how much damage to the environment that can cause, as well as highlighting how much of a waste of money that it. 

Instead of choosing to throw your ink cartridges away, recycle them either buy using one of the many companies online or take them to your local recycling centre. 

Embracing the idea of recycling will not only be better for you, your wallet and your environment, it will also help us take the steps we need along the way to a more sustainable future. This is why you shouldn't throw away ink cartridges.

Blog Author: Simon Cross is the engaging and knowledgeable voice behind the insightful articles on printers and printer consumables at IJT Direct, an ecommerce store renowned for its comprehensive selection of printers, printer consumables, and hardware. View Simons author page to find out more about him.