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Friday, January 06, 2006

Recycle printer cartridges.

Ink cartridges are just like razor blades. They make the initial purchase (printer, blade holder) inexpensive, but they get you with the refills (ink cartridges, razor blades). And the refills get used up so quickly! Recycling the cartridges may not make them less expensive, but it will help reduce waste and preserve the environment. Consider these facts from EnviroSmart :
* Producing one new laser cartridge consumes nearly a gallon of oil and generates almost 2.5 pounds of industrial waste.
* Producing one recycled laser cartridge uses less than half the oil of a new one.
* Two and a half ounces of oil are used for every ink jet cartridge produced.
* Over 86% of all inkjet cartridges sold in this country are thrown away, and over 50% of laser cartridges are deposited in landfills every year.
* Of the 1.2 billion new cartridges sold this year worldwide, only 100 million will come from remanufactured sources.

Thankfully, organizations like EnviroSmart are helping change that statistic. EnviroSmart is the largest recycler of inkjet and laser cartridges in the world. "In the last 10 years, the EnviroSmart program has generated over $17 million for participating businesses, schools and charities." Many offices have rolls of postage paid envelopes addressed to EnviroSmart. Just drop in your empty cartridge, seal and drop it in the mail. They make it so easy!

So if your office supply store doesn't accept your cartridges, or they don't give a discount or free paper in exchange for an empty cartridge, try recycling with EnviroSmart. By the way, they also recycle cell phones. Contact EnviroSmart today!

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." -Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd US President (1882-1945)

8 comments:

Karama said...

I'll let you know if I find anything on recycling razor blades. :)

Karama said...

Visit MedGadget.com and vote for your favorite health policy and ethics weblog today.

Karama said...

Also check out InkBank, "the originators of cartridge recycling fundraising programs". Also en Français.

Karama said...

It's time for the 2006 Bloggies, annual awards for the best of the blogosphere. So what can I do? has been nominated for "Best-Kept-Secret Weblog".

Numerous nominations are needed to be a finalist, and you must nominate at least 3 blogs on your form. Here are some of my favorites:

* So what can I do? (http://sowhatcanido.blogspot.com) - Best kept secret.
* Arkansas Daily Blog (http://www.arktimes.com/)
* Tayari Jones (http://www.tayarijones.com/blog/)
* AJOB Blog (http://blog.bioethics.net)
* Women's Bioethics Project Blog (http://womensbioethics.blogspot.com)
* Negrophile (http://www.negrophile.com/)

Choose three or more of your favorites and submit your nominations by January 10. May the best blogs win!

Anonymous said...

Toner Cartridge Depot also recycles empty printer cartridges.

Anonymous said...

Staples used to take toner cartridges for recycling, i'm not sure if they do or not anymore, but it'd be worth a look.

SimpleGuy said...

We should all support the idea of recycling our ink cartridges. These are toxic waste that goes into our land. Throwing them in the bin won't do anything to help reduce our pollution level....Recycle Will!!!

Anonymous said...

Great Review! Well written and quite descriptive as well.. If any item or topic comes out then you should be the one releasing it to the public and make it known! The way you describe it is very intriguing and feels like candy to my ears, if that really makes any sense :) but you catch my drift.. In one of my classes, we were given a paper with instructions of how to build a swan made of aluminum foil and we had to explain to our group verbally how to construct the swan.. It was difficult! But, manageable and we came second in place, but it was tasky :) Nevertheless if you post anything else up I will most definitely check it out! Great review!