Why Recycle your Printer Cartridge? (& how we can help!)
Have you ever wondered what happens to a printer cartridge when you recycle it? Depending on the cartridge, one of three things will happen:
1. The cartridge will be remanufactured for reuse.
Re-use is the highest form of environmental responsibility. On average, it produces 53% less carbon, uses 59% less energy, and has 52% less impact on natural resources. Our reliable remanufacturing partners can take an empty OEM printer cartridge and give it a second, or even third, life!
These cartridges use the same shell as a name brand cartridge, so they will often look just like the OEM product. During the remanufacturing process, the cartridge is disassembled, extensively cleaned, tested for quality and any worn or damaged internal components are replaced. The cartridge is then carefully reassembled and refilled with ink or toner.
2. The cartridge plastic will be shredded and reformulated into new cartridges.
To remanufacture a high-quality product, you need a high-quality shell. Remanufacturers will evaluate each cartridge they receive and designate them for remanufacturing or grinding. If sent to grinding, the cartridge is disassembled and sorted (plastic, blades, PCR drum). The empty plastic shells are then ground into tiny pieces to be used for various injection molding processes for new products down the line.
3. The cartridge will end up in the landfill.
Wait, but you were recycling it – why did it end up in the landfill?
Well, only authentic OEM or Remanufactured cartridges can be recycled, and unfortunately, many counterfeits flood the market today. These counterfeits are typically a shockingly low-cost, and are manufactured in China using low-quality plastics.
It’s important to avoid counterfeits when shopping, not only because they end up as a single-use plastic in our already overcrowded landfills, but they can also damage your printer.
To avoid these counterfeits, be sure you are purchasing from a reliable distributor, such as Perry Office Plus, or from your printer manufacturer directly, as opposed to un-verified third-parties that sell low-quality counterfeit toners on the large e-commerce sites.
How can Perry Office Plus help?
We offer our customers the option to leave their empty cartridges with us, and we will handle recycling them! Our delivery drivers are happy to take them off your hands the next time they are dropping off one of your orders!
And again, to avoid counterfeits, Perry Office Plus offers a variety of OEM and Remanufactured options on here on our website, as well as a comprehensive Managed Print Service to streamline your printer supplies purchasing and maintenance.
