I don’t consider myself to be a die hard environmentalist, probably not even close, but I’m not a huge fan of excessive waste and just throwing things away (my wife might disagree given the way I cleaned out the garage a few weeks ago).

When we talk about environmental consciousness in the printer cartridge industry we are very quick to point out the number of printer cartridges that are thrown away each year. Some estimates have the number as high as 750 million worldwide. Of that number, it is estimated that 450 million are thrown away in the United States alone. Does it shock anyone that 60% of the worldwide cartridge disposal comes from the United States? Even more shocking is that most of this waste is shipped off to landfills in third world countries. We are not even taking responsibility for the waste we produce.

The automatic response to such a staggering amount of waste is that we need to recycle. And we do, but not to the extent we should. Most of the manufacturers offer recycling services for their printer cartridges, either in the form of a postage paid mailing bag/label (included with the cartridge) or a service provided through their web site.

Despite these steps, critics are quick to blame your printer manufacturer for creating a product and system that produces so much waste. They are also quick to say that manufacturers should take responsibility for all the waste they have created. I could not disagree more.

First, printer manufacturers are attempting to do something by including the postage paid mailing bags with new cartridges. Manufacturers team with recycling companies and have the empty cartridges turned in to plastic based products that we use in our daily lives. What more do we want them to do?

Well, some say they should be creating cartridges that can be used more than once.

The printer cartridge manufacturers that make  your printer design a cartridge to be used once. They claim that for the best print quality and cartridge reliability they have to be made this way. Really? You’d think some modifications could be made so the cartridges non-vital components could be used again. Cartridges are mostly made of plastic, and the plastic makes up the body of the cartridge. This is what I would consider the non-vital component. Other parts of the cartridge, like the print heads, are made of metal (although in some cases the print head is on the printer and not the cartridge), this is a vital component.

Why couldn’t manufacturers collect the empty cartridges, strip them, reuse the non-vital components, and replace the vital components? You’d think that companies like Lexmark, HP, Epson, or Canon could easily do this. Most would say it’s because of greed. But, who says they have to change the price? They could just as easily sell the recycled plastic cartridge for the same price as a brand new one. We’re getting new vital components, why should we not pay for them.

But, let’s not put this all on the manufacturer. The consumer has a responsibility as well. The responsibility to make sure their empty cartridges are being disposed of in the right way. After all, it is not the manufacturer that is putting them in the trash, it is the consumer! Say whatever you want, we are the ones that make the choice to throw them away.

When your cartridge runs out of ink take a minute to figure out an environmentally way to dispose of it. Did the manufacturer include a postage paid recycling bag? If not, is there somewhere you could mail the cartridge to have it recycled (it would probably cost around $1 in postage)?  Check the Internet, are there companies that will provide you with a postage paid label? Mabye they have a local drop off location. Are there any groups or organizations in your area that collect empty cartridges as a fundraising effort? Give it to them. Want to see if you can use the cartridge again? Get it refilled. There are quite a few stores that offer that service. You’ve got choices, just take the time to find the one that is most convenient for you.

It might not be so hard to make consumables like printer cartridges a little more environmentally friendly. Think about it . . . And let me know what you think. Thanks!