A School Fundraiser That Doesn’t Require Selling or Collecting Anything

October 05 2026, by Planet Green, 5 min reading time

School fundraising usually comes with a catch.

Someone has to sell something. Parents are asked to buy something. Students bring order forms home. Teachers and volunteers have to organize collections, distribute products, keep track of money, or find time for another fundraising event.

But what if your school or classroom could raise money from something families and businesses are already throwing away?

That’s the idea behind the Planet Green Recycle fundraising program.

[ Register here for free: https://www.planetgreenrecycle.com/pages/start-fundraising ]

Turn Used Printer Cartridges Into Funds for Your School

Think about how many people connected to your school use a printer.

Parents may have printers at home. Family members use printers at work. Some parents own businesses or work in offices where inkjet cartridges are regularly replaced. Teachers, administrators, local businesses and other members of the community may use them too.

Those empty inkjet cartridges have recycling value.

With Planet Green Recycle, your school, classroom, PTA, PTO, club or other school program receives its own Program ID. Instead of asking supporters to bring their cartridges to the school, you simply share that Program ID with them.

When someone has eligible empty inkjet cartridges to recycle, they can request a free shipping label, enter your school’s Program ID, put their cartridges in any box they have and send them directly to Planet Green Recycle. No cost - no waste, and your school doesn’t have to serve as a collection point.

The cartridges they send in are credited to your fundraising program and converted into funds for your school.

No Boxes of Cartridges in the Classroom

One of the challenges with traditional recycling fundraisers is collection.

Someone has to put a box somewhere. Someone has to remind people to bring items in. Someone has to sort, store, package and eventually ship everything.

That can turn a good fundraising idea into another job for teachers, parents or volunteers.

The Planet Green Recycle program is different because supporters can ship their cartridges themselves right from their home or office. They literally just drop them in the mail.

Your school’s job is simply to share the Program ID and remind people to use it.

A parent can recycle cartridges from home. Another supporter can participate from their workplace. A local business can recycle cartridges and support the school without ever having to visit the campus.

That means your potential group of supporters extends well beyond the families who walk through the school doors every day.

[ Register here for free: https://www.planetgreenrecycle.com/pages/start-fundraising ]

You Don’t Have to Ask Parents to Buy Something

Parents receive a lot of fundraising requests during the school year.

Cookie dough. Candy. Gift wrap. Restaurant nights. Raffles. Merchandise.

Those programs can certainly raise money, but they usually depend on someone spending money specifically because there is a fundraiser.

Recycling empty inkjet cartridges asks something very different:

Before you throw that cartridge away, use it to support our school.

There is nothing to sell and no purchase is required to recycle.

Supporters are simply taking something they have already used and sending it in for recycling instead of discarding it.

Your Program ID Makes It Easy to Share

Once your fundraising program is established, the Program ID becomes the key to promoting it.

Include it in the school newsletter. Put it on the PTA or PTO page. Add it to parent emails. Share it on social media. Include it on the classroom website. Ask parents to share it with relatives, friends and coworkers who use inkjet printers.

The message can be remarkably simple:

Have empty inkjet cartridges? Recycle them for free and support our school. Use Program ID ______ when requesting your free shipping label.

Instead of organizing one large fundraising event, your school can keep the program available throughout the year.

Every reminder gives another parent, teacher, relative or community member an opportunity to participate.

A Fundraiser That Can Keep Working

Many school fundraisers have a beginning and an end.

A recycling fundraiser doesn’t have to.

Printers continue to need replacement cartridges throughout the year, which means empty cartridges continue to be generated throughout the year.

That makes the program especially useful as an ongoing fundraiser rather than a one-time campaign.

A school can introduce the program at the beginning of the year and continue reminding families about it periodically. A classroom can use it to help fund activities or supplies. A PTA or PTO can make it one of several fundraising options available to families.

The key is consistency: make sure supporters know the Program ID and remember that their empty cartridges can benefit the school.

[ Register here for free: https://www.planetgreenrecycle.com/pages/start-fundraising ]

Start a Free School Recycling Fundraiser

Fundraising doesn’t always have to mean asking families to open their wallets.

Sometimes it can be as simple as giving something they already have a second purpose.

Planet Green Recycle makes it possible for schools and classrooms to turn eligible empty inkjet cartridges into fundraising dollars without selling products, organizing a collection point or charging supporters to ship their cartridges.

Your classroom, PTA, sports team or your school gets a Program ID. You share it with your community. Your supporters recycle their cartridges directly with Planet Green Recycle.

And something that might otherwise have been thrown away can help fund something your students need.

[ Register here for free: https://www.planetgreenrecycle.com/pages/start-fundraising ]