Answering Common Internet Questions - Is Recycling Ink Worth It?

November 08 2022, by Planet Green, 4 min reading time

The process of properly recycling an ink cartridge is dependent on a few things, and those should be considered when making a purchase of an ink cartridge in the first place. You need to know, not all the ink cartridges you purchase can be remanufactured, which is a key step in the recycling, remanufacturing and reuse process.

Is recycling an ink cartridge worth it?

While it seems outrageous that this question would even be asked, an answer is available. Yes! It is worth it to recycle your empty ink cartridges.

Landfills are the breeding ground of toxic chemicals that destroy the earth and poison groundwater - two resources we desperately need to survive on this planet. Items tossed into the recycle bin at your home often end up in those landfills; throwing an ink cartridge into a blue bin does not mean it’s being recycled!

The process of properly recycling an ink cartridge is dependent on a few things, and those should be considered when making a purchase of an ink cartridge in the first place. You need to know, not all the ink cartridges you purchase can be remanufactured, which is a key step in the recycling, remanufacturing and reuse process.

Amazon and eBay are notorious for offering great deals on ink cartridges that are made overseas. They aren’t made by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), though they are designed to bypass the manufacturer’s original design specs and still function in a machine. These are commonly called “knock-offs,” as the manufacturers of them are stealing the proprietary designs that the original manufacturers spend millions to create. They are literally knocking them off to sell you a second rate piece of garbage at a lower cost. People want to save a buck, so it keeps these scammers in business. They list the items as “original” or “approved” for your machine and they get your cash. You are pouring your money into China’s thieving manufacturing practices. Not good. There are actual remanufactured OEM cartridges made in the U.S. at the same low prices.

What’s worse, these knock off cartridges aren’t designed in a way that can even be remanufactured after use. While an OEM cartridge is most likely able to be recycled, remanufactured, refilled and resold at a lower cost to the end user, these knock-offs are not. They are made as a “single use” item and once they’re empty - they go into landfills. Sure, the plastic could be recycled and shredded up and made into something else plastic - provided they are cleaned and disassembled - but that doesn’t happen when you throw them into the blue bin - so stop buying these overseas fake ink cartridges and stop throwing your used ink cartridges into the household recycle bin.

Companies like Planet Green Recycle and DoorStep Ink sell remanufactured ink cartridges, made from the original manufacturers actual cartridges, and they are guaranteed to work, cost less and are made without leaving a big ugly carbon footprint that causes the earth damage. More on that in a minute.

Now that we have established that your next ink cartridge purchase is going to be a U.S. Remanufactured Cartridge at a lower cost than the new ones at those Office Warehouse stores - let's talk about the previously emptied cartridges you want to recycle. Reminder - yes, it is good to recycle each and every ink cartridge.

You can gather those 4 cartridges from your current printer and instead of tossing them into the trash - toss them into a box and print a free shipping label at www.planetgreenrecycle.com. Send the cartridges in and they will remanufacture them into fully useable, guaranteed, completely filled and tested to work properly ink cartridges. This means, it literally costs you nothing to see that those empty ink cartridges go where they belong and that they are properly recycled. 

It gets even better! Log on to www.planetgreenrecycle.com and get a Unique ID Number for an organization you work with and when you send in those cartridges, they’ll mail you a check. Actual cash in exchange for them, cash you can use to support your organizations fundraising efforts. Go one step further and share that number with everyone in your organization and they can share it with everyone they know. Each individual person can simply go to the Planet Green Recycle website and print a free shipping label to send in cartridges. When they assign that mailing to your Program ID number - you get paid! So it’s more than just recycling, fundraising and protecting the earth. It’s a win, win, win! You’re doing the right thing, getting paid and wait … there’s more: You can purchase these remanufactured ink cartridges at a low cost and keep printing! Saving money, making money, protecting the earth - it answers the original question with shining brilliance. Yes, it is worth it to recycle your ink cartridges.

So before you give them the old “toss-in-the-bin,” exchange that ink cartridge trash for cash. Recycle your empty cartridges at www.planetgreenrecycle.com today.

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