Other Ways of Recycling your Ink Cartridges & Why it is Important

We are all getting better about recycling and helping the environment, it is sometimes worth reminding readers of the Blogberry why it is important to recycle your old ink cartridges.

What is in your ink cartridge?

In 2007 I wrote a brief article on how to recycle your old HP ink cartridges (it really couldn’t be easier, click here for that article).

But whilst sitting on a train and running through my mind various things which needed doing, I decided to do a little research as to what the non-recyclers where doing to our planet – it was disturbing!

Here are some facts about your ink cartridges

• More than 1.1 billion inkjet cartridges are used around the world each year. Enough to lay end to end 129 times as long as the Great Wall of China.
• Each laser printer cartridge which makes it to landfill adds 3lbs (1.3kgs) of waste
• It takes 3.5 litres of oil to make one laser cartridges, and 90ml of oil for one inkjet cartridge
• Plastic cartridges take 1000 years to biodegrade due to polymers in the product
• 30 million inkjet cartridges are dumped in the UK each year – the same weight as 18 Blue Whales
• The manufacturers estimate that a used cartridge can be re-used 3 – 7 times.
• Only 20-30% of all cartridges sold in the world have been recycled.

I also wrote later in 2007 the best way to look after your ink cartridges.