Recycling
FAQ
about recycling Inkjet and Laser Toner Cartridges
Q. Why is recycling so important?
A. Recycling
is environmentally beneficial because it reduces the amount of waste sent to
landfill, re-uses the planet’s finite resources and uses less energy than
making a cartridge from new.
Q. How can I recycle my
Inkjet cartridges?
A. Contact us using the contact form and
request some pre-paid recycling envelopes. Just pop your empty in a bag and post
at no cost to you.
Q. What happens to my cartridge after I have posted it?
A. They are sent directly to a Recycling Centre where, so far as possible,
they are remanufactured into new cartridges.
Q. Can all Inkjet cartridges be made into new cartridges?
A. Unfortunately not for a variety of reasons. Cartridges which
do not have the printhead attached to the cartridge (e.g. Epson and some Canon
cartridges) cannot be
re-used. The only way they can be recycled is to be ground down into plastic chips which are then used as packing material or melted down and reformed into new shapes.
Unfortunately, the recycling centre we use have recently informed us that due to the large volume of Epson cartridges they have received, they have more packing material than they can use or sell. Therefore, they are refusing to accept any more Epson cartridges. We contacted a number of other cartridge recycling companies and most have not accepted Epson cartridges for some time.
This decision saddened everyone at Print4Less
because we are all dedicated to recycling as much as we can. However, we do appreciate that it uses more energy to transport, sort and crush these cartridges than can be recouped by recycling.
We advise that If there is a plastics recycling bin at your local refuse centre, please use it for your empty Epson cartridges instead. Your local council should have details of plastics recycling depots in your area (or try the Yellow Pages).
Q. What about empty Laser toner cartridges?
A. The majority of these can also be recycled. They are generally too big to fit into
the pre-paid envelope so contact Print4Less
Q. Are
the Laser toner empties worth anything?
A. Recycling companies need empties in order to make and sell remanufactured cartridges.
Sometimes they will pay for certain empty Laser toner cartridges but the prices
fluctuate depending on supply and demand and some are not worth anything. If
these empties have a value, it can then be passed back to you in the form of a
cheque or as a credit against future purchases. Some recyclers choose to donate
the money to a charity or good cause of their choice.
Please bear in mind that unless you have a large number of empties or you are a
local customer, it may cost more to send us your empties than you would recoup
in their value. We recommend taking small numbers of empty laser toner
cartridges to a Charity shop with a recycling scheme e.g. The Children's
Society, Scope or Help the Aged to name but a few.
Q. I currently return all my empties to my Stationery supplier. Surely they
are recycling them!
A. Not necessarily. The stationery supplier may be doing one of two things
with the empties -
Selling them to a remanufacturer and keeping any money generated, or
Sending them back to the
printer manufacturers e.g. Hewlett
Packard, Canon, Epson etc. These companies do not recycle their empties for
further use in printers.
Q. Why don’t Printer manufacturers recycle their empties?
A. Printer manufacturers make virtually no money selling printers. Their profit
comes from selling their own inkjet and toners cartridges. Therefore they have a
vested interest in keeping empties and thus recycled consumables out of the
market so that they sell more of their own brand virgin cartridges.
Q. Are the recycled cartridges any good?
A. Recycled inkjet and laser consumables purchased from Print4Less
perform equally as well as branded cartridges but cost
significantly less than the original equivalent. In addition, they carry a 12
month guarantee.
Q. Are all cartridges sold by Print4Less recycled
cartridges?
A. No. Inkjet cartridges for Epson and most Canon
printers are new, compatible cartridges and carry a 24-month guarantee. Inkjet
cartridges for Hewlett Packard and Lexmark printers and Canon printheads are
recycled.
For more about compatible cartridges click here
Q. What about the warnings in my printer manual that using non-OEM
cartridges could damage my printer and invalidate my warranty?
A. Remanufactured and compatible cartridges bought from Print4Less
are no more likely to damage your printer than the
branded cartridge. In the highly unlikely event that one of our cartridges is
proved to have caused damage, the manufacturers are insured and will repair the
printer or replace it with one of a similar market value.
For
more about compatible cartridges click here
Q. How do I order Remanufactured and Compatible cartridges?
A. Click HERE for our order form
Q. How can I save the planet by recycling?
A. Contact us by filling in our contact
form and we can tailor a recycling scheme
specific to your requirements
A
Print4Less
Fact
Around 90% of laser toner cartridges and 70% if
inkjets can be recycled for re-use.
Currently, only 25% of toner cartridges are recovered
for this purpose.
Where do all the other cartridges
go?
