Recycling is something that has been getting more attention in recent years, and for good reason. If we continue to deplete the planet of resources, future generations are going to be left footing the bill. In one staggering revelation, last year over 300 million ink cartridges were tossed in the trash and will be piling up in landfills for generations to come. The simple solution, instead of tossing the ink cartridge in the trash, drop it in a recycle bin.
Consider these 4 reasons to recycle your ink cartridges so you can do your part preserving the resources of the planet:
1. Growing Landfill Problem
Last year over 300 million ink cartridges were not recycled, so they accumulated in local landfills, and that number will rise year after year if nothing is done today. Those ink cartridges can easily be taken apart and recycled, giving new life to the parts and helping to stop a growing problem. Some of those components inside the ink cartridge will not begin to decompose for at least 1,000 years. That means tens of generations from now, they will still be dealing with the trash this generation is leaving behind.
The more of these cartridges being recycled, the less trips to the landfill, the less chance of leakage into the ground, and the better chance the parts can be used to produce new parts.
2. Preserving Limited Natural Resources
The planet certainly does not have limitless supplies of natural resources. Each time the ink cartridges are tossed into the trash, natural resources like oil, petroleum, and water, must be utilized to produce new products. Since the cartridges are already in use, recycling them will allow the manufacturer to strip away some parts and reuse others without relying heavily on minerals, oils, and water, to build new ones.
The internal components of the ink cartridge are capable of being used several dozen times before wearing out. These cartridges are doing no one any good piling up in the local landfills.
3. Saving Energy Means Less Pollution
Each time a new ink cartridge needs to be manufactured, it requires a significant amount of energy. Not only do the manufacturing plants require resources to operate, there are the trucks that are burning through fuel to transport these cartridges around the world. When the cartridges are recycled, it requires less in the way of energy being used at the manufacturing plant than to create a new cartridge. If these ink cartridges continue to fill up the landfills at this alarming rate, they also increase both air and water pollution.
These cartridges can leak the remaining ink into the soil which can contaminate water supplies. Incinerating these cartridges can release dangerous toxins that could pollute the air. Recycling ensures they stay far away from the landfills and are put back on the shelves for sale again.
4. Protecting Raw Materials for Future Generations
Each time an ink cartridge is tossed into the trash, new resources are going to be required by the manufacturing plants to create a new supply. These raw materials are being used at an alarming rate, and future generations are going to have difficulty finding raw materials to utilize for other products. The raw materials used to produce the 300 million cartridges already sitting in local landfills is not only wasteful, it is going to cost the next generation more as these resources get costlier as supplies dwindle.
Protecting future generations from having to shoulder the burden of paying more money for items we enjoy today is easily addressed by dropping those cartridges in a recycle bin. The majority of the cartridge, from housing to internal parts are reused, and even the remaining ink left inside can be recycled too.
Not only is throwing away those ink cartridges harmful, it is a waste considering how easily they can be recycled. The office supply store where you purchased the ink cartridge will have drop off bins for old cartridges, an easy way to help do your part preserving natural resources.
Keep all your old cartridges in a plastic bag and on the next trip to the store, simply place them in the recycle bin.
