The Truth About Printer Waste and Remanufactured Toner Cartridges

For most working professionals, the office printer is a necessary evil--an ink-guzzling, paper-consuming fickle fiend that commands the workplace. But while it is easy to personify the printer as just another malevolent co-worker, is it truly as money-sucking as many claim it is? Did you know that on average, a single employee prints six wasteful pages per day? That adds up to a loss of more than $80 from one person. Is that the printer's fault? Perhaps. Let us examine some statistics.

Every second in the United States, 13 printer cartridges are thrown away. No, these are not recycled, but thoughtlessly tossed into the garbage can. It is estimated that landfills accumulate an astounding 375 million cartridges each year. This total weight ends up matching nearly 70,000 SUVs, or more than 110,000 economy cars. So what are we supposed to do with all of our drained compatible ink cartridges?

Your standard cheap toner cartridges are made up of 40% metal with 40% plastic, and the remaining 20% containing minor amounts of foam, paper, rubber, and toner of course. Nearly a gallon of oil is used to produce a single cartridge. We may not yet be able to completely seal this flow of waste, but we can certainly slow its speed.

To cut down on this huge environmental detriment, several printer companies have introduced remanufactured ink cartridges to their accessory catalogues. Through a rigorous and comprehensive process, remanufacturers collect old compatible toner cartridges from businesses and private users. Once picked up, the cartridges are completely taken apart, sanitized, and inspected for necessary replacement. As soon as the items are tested for quality and integrity, they are refilled with premium ink or toner and packaged again for mass shipping. The difference between toner and ink is the printer, with the latter used by inkjet devices and the former with laser printers.

Because the list prices of printers have fallen so dramatically in the past few years, manufacturers have attempted to recoup their losses by raising the retail value of cartridges. Not surprisingly, companies that produce the original cartridges have subsequently questioned the quality of their competitors' remanufactured products. However, these wild claims have all been debunked by consistent remanufactured toner cartridges.

By choosing to purchase recycled cartridges over brand new, you save oil and three-and-a-half pounds of waste. And there is absolutely nothing questionable about that. Do the Earth, and your wallet, a favor and invest in remaufactured cartridges.

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