Recycling & Waste Management

Printing Waste Recycling

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HOW TO RECYCLE YOUR PRINTER

Used printers and printer cartridges have a major impact on landfill space and the environment. More than 350 million used printer cartridges end up in landfills every year. A woeful 70% of printer cartridges aren’t recycled although they can be remanufactured three to four times before they actually wear out. The heavy metals in printers account for much of the lead, cadmium, copper, and chromium found in landfills. It takes 450 to 1,000 years for printer cartridge waste to break down. Recycling a used printer cartridge saves energy, water, and keeps trash out of the landfill. Recycling a printer cartridge saves almost a gallon of oil (the amount of oil needed to manufacture a new printer cartridge), avoids water contamination caused by leeching of heavy metals into the soil, and keeps about two pounds of waste out of the landfill. Discarded printer cartridges add 400,000 tons of waste to landfills every year. A company can dramatically reduce their carbon footprint by recycling printers and printer cartridges. An electronics recycling company will normally sell used but working printers on the grey market because the printer has value above its scrap value. Used printer cartridges will be remanufactured and sold or sold to other companies that remanufacture printer cartridges. Printers and printer cartridges that have reached the end of their life are scrapped for their metals and plastic content. Printer cartridges have both precious metal and copper components. Printers have steel and copper as well, but they are also home to toxic metals such as lead, cadmium, and chromium. That is another important reason these electronic devices should be sent to All Green Recycling.