How to recycle Empty Toner Cartridges

The printer toner is most useful when it is supplying the ink for the printed pages.  Right? No actually, it is also useful when it is empty and the printer indicates that there is no more ink within the printer toner.  Because in this empty state, when properly recycled, the printer toner is still useful to you by getting you some extra bucks, and also importantly by preserving the environment.

When we know there are substances within an empty printer toner which will harm the environment when the printer toner is not disposed of properly and we think about all the millions of printers out there in the world (including ours) and the millions of printer toners that each printer will use.  It now becomes important for us to play our own part in ensuring we are preserving the environment by recycling our empty toner cartridges.

The good news is there are several ways to recycle our empty toner cartridges and some might even get you some extra bucks or save you money.

The easiest way is by reusing old toner cartridges by getting refills for them. Refills can be obtained easily at the local supplies store. You create less toner garbage and your cost of printing will reduce significantly.  This option is not available for all toner models so you will need to do some research.

Another good option is to locate organizations within your area that take empty toners. These organizations include the local recycling center, the local office supply store e.tc. Some of these organizations use the empty toners for making remanufactured toners, which cost less than a brand new toner.  And some of the organizations also offer reward options for bringing in empty toners. It is advisable to call ahead to get details on requirements and limitations.

You can also get in touch with the toner cartridge manufacturer to get details on their return policies for empty toners.

A popular option is to look for cartridge buyback site online.  A simple internet search will reveal a host of sites offering this service. Most of these sites give money for the empty toners and some include free shipping.  For the big-hearted, there are also charity sites that offer some money for the empty toners and give the rest to charitable causes. For the more entrepreneurial, there is also the option of selling the empty toners on sites like eBay and Amazon marketplace.

Also available is the option of disposing of in an appropriate recycling bin that is marked for recycling.  But you need to read the disposal instructions on the toner, to ensure it can be disposed of in this manner.