According to the Centre for Alternative Technology's July bulletin, printer cartridges account for about 15,000 tonnes of waste plastic and metal in the UK. Many could be recycled and reused, reducing landfill, saving raw materials and minimising CO2 emissions
They say that if you would like to help, you can send your used ink cartridges and mobile phones to "Centre for Alternative Technology, Empty Printer Cartridge & Mobile Phone Appeal, Freepost Nat 16879, Po Box 575, Ipswich, IP8 4WR" or call them on 0845 330 4593 to receive some Freepost envelopes.
You can also recycle your printer cartridges with the RSPB here or with Traidcraft here or with the RNIB here to name but a few. Why not check out your favourite charity to see if they do a recycling scheme and then set up a recycling box at your school or workplace.
Of course the other side of the equation is buying recycled printer cartridges. So, where can you do that?
Lasertech, a UK printer cartridge manufacturer, reuse the outer shell of their printer cartridges saving on landfill and saving on raw materials. They have a returns facility for empty cartridges.
Choice Stationery send a recycling envelope with all their cartridges and ask customers to return their empties to them.
They also supply 'Think' Inkjet cartridges which are recycled. These are available for Epson, Canon, HP, Lexmark, Brother, Dell and Xerox. I've used these myself and they are 100% guaranteed. inkcycle also offer a 100% guarantee and take back the cartridges.
So next time think before you order your ink and let's try to reduce the estimated 30 million empty inkjet cartridges that get thrown away into landfill every year in the UK alone.