Refill Your Ink Jet Cartridges To Save Big Money AND The Environment

by Jeffrey

printers, recycling, reusing / repurposing

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cartridge-world.jpgI love finding and sharing ways to live green that not only save the environment, but save you some cash as well!

The average inkjet printer these days costs around $150.

The average household can easily spend an additional $150/year on printer ink!

Does anyone else see something wrong with that?

In addition to costing big bucks to purchase, the environmental impact of producing new inkjet cartridges is equally hefty.

Enter Cartridge World, the fastest growing toner and inkjet cartridge replacement franchise in the nation, according to Entrepreneur Magazine.

I made my first trip ever to my local Cartridge World to get my cyan inkjet cartridge refilled earlier this week.

A brand new cyan cartridge would cost me $13.29 at Staples. What did it cost to refill it instead?

$6.50!

When Cartridge World advertises a savings of 50%, they’re not just being generous… that’s realistic.

Doesn’t it make sense to have your inkjet cartridges refilled, rather than buy all new cartridges? After all, there’s nothing wrong with the cartridge, it’s just out of ink.

Is there a limit as to how many times an inkjet cartridge can be refilled… and what happens to it once it is no longer of use?

That’s a great question. Cartridge World has a Think Green section of their website in which they address many of the environmental benefits of refilling and recycling your inkjet cartridges, in addition to providing additional facts and figures about the industry.

From Cartridge World:

  • The average laser printer cartridge can be remanufactured 3-4 times.
  • Every cartridge is recycled and remanufactured in the community that the Cartridge World store serves.
  • It takes about one gallon of oil to make a new laser cartridge. Each recycled ink cartridge saves about 2 ounces of oil.
  • In North America alone, over 350 million cartridges per year are discarded in our landfills
  • A laser cartridge thrown into landfill can take up to 450 years to decompose. Some components made of industrial grade plastics will take over a thousand years to decompose.
  • Each remanufactured laser cartridge keeps 2 pounds of waste out of landfills.
  • 70% of used printer cartridges throughout the world are currently being thrown out.
  • In one year, if the world’s discarded cartridges were stacked end-to-end, they would circle the earth over 3 times.

On the FAQ page, the company also goes on to explain that using refilled and/or remanufactured ink cartridges will not void your printer’s warranty, reduce your printer’s efficiency/quality, and more.

In addition to being THE inkjet and laser toner cartridge refilling store, Cartridge World is a member of the EPA’s WasteWise Program.

If you’re looking for a Cartridge World store near you, click here and type in your zip. If you’re in or around the Hermitage, TN area, stop in to the store on OHB in the shopping center with O’Charley’s and Panera Bread, across from Summit Hospital. Be sure to talk to the store owner, a very nice and helpful gentleman named Barry Bean… and tell him Jeffrey from The Fun Times Guide to Living Green sent ya.