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What If You Had to Pay the Energy Bill for That Ink Cartridge?

What If You Had to Pay the Energy Bill for That Ink Cartridge?

, by Planet Green, 2 min reading time

Every day, millions of people toss a used ink cartridge in the trash and reorder another cheap knockoff online - often from unknown sellers overseas. But what most people don’t realize is that these “bargain” cartridges come with a hidden cost: wasted energy that someone, somewhere, is paying for.


It takes an estimated 2.5 to 7.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy to manufacture just one new inkjet cartridge. That's:

  • The same electricity it takes to run your microwave for 5 hours
  • Or power your refrigerator for an entire day
  • Or leave your TV on for 75 straight hours

What if you paid your local energy company for that 7.5 kWh? At today’s average U.S. residential rate (about $0.17 per kWh), it would cost you $1.28 in energy alone — just to make a plastic cartridge you might throw away after a few weeks of use.

Now imagine that multiplied.

Millions of Knockoff Cartridges a Day

Industry data estimates that 1 million third-party inkjet cartridges are manufactured every day — mostly overseas, with low-cost labor and minimal environmental regulation.

Let’s do the math:

  • 1 million cartridges/day × 7.5 kWh each = 7.5 million kWh/day
  • That’s the daily electricity use of over 250,000 U.S. homes
  • At $0.17/kWh, that's $1.27 million dollars of energy used every single day
  • Most of it used to make non-recyclable, single-use cartridges that clog landfills and can’t legally be remanufactured in the U.S.

There’s a Better Way — Remanufactured Ink from Planet Green Recycle

When you choose remanufactured ink cartridges through Planet Green Recycle, you’re choosing to:

  • Use up to 80% less energy per cartridge
  • Avoid the extraction and waste of new plastic and electronic parts
  • Support U.S. jobs in the remanufacturing industry
  • Keep cartridges out of landfills
  • Reduce your carbon footprint by over 60%

And you’re not sacrificing quality. Our cartridges are thoroughly tested, refilled using OEM standards, and backed by performance guarantees.

It’s Cleaner. It’s Smarter. It’s Cheaper.

Buying remanufactured or OEM surplus cartridges from Planet Green Recycle doesn’t just help the planet - it helps your wallet. You’ll save up to 70% compared to big-box retailers, and 100% of your purchase supports a circular economy that reuses, rebuilds, and restores value right here in the United States.

Make the Switch Today

Every ink cartridge is a choice. When you choose Planet Green Recycle, you’re not just printing — you’re powering change.

Shop Remanufactured Ink Now: https://www.planetgreenrecycle.com/pages/shop

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