Printer cartridges come in various sizes and shapes and they are indispensable in a busy company or household. They provide ink or toner for printers and make printing documents and emails very easy and accessible to everyone. However, after they are empty, they should be recycled in order to preserve the resources of this planet and save more energy. All homeowners and company owners are advised to recycle their empty printer cartridges in order to benefit of some discounts and freebies when they purchase new ones. If you are interested about printer cartridges and you want to find out how important and valuable they are then here is a quick list of facts about printer cartridges that will amaze you.

More than 1 billion inkjet cartridges are used every year

Approximately 1.1 billion inkjet cartridges are used by printers from all over the world on a yearly basis and if these cartridges would be stacked one next to the other, their total length will be almost 130 times longer than the Great Wall of China. Obviously, they will also be visible from the Moon too.

Recycled printer cartridges are much cheaper than original printer cartridges

And this is another great reason why everyone should start recycling printer cartridges as often as possible. In some cases, recycled printer cartridges can be up to 65% cheaper than original ones, not to mention that those printer cartridges won't drain the resources of the planet that much.

8 cartridges are thrown away right now in the US

In the United States alone, 8 or even 9 cartridges are thrown away each and every second. Unfortunately, most of these cartridges end up in landfills and they pollute the planet more and more every year.

Printer cartridges take up to 1000 years to biodegrade

The plastic contained by the casings of printer cartridges is not very easily biodegradable. It can actually take up to 1000 years for this plastic to decompose and in the meantime, it stays idle in landfills, occupying space and polluting the planet. If more and more people would start recycling printer cartridges, this immense waste of resources and space would be prevented.

An inkjet cartridge uses about 3oz of oil when it is manufactured

Producing inkjet cartridges is not an easy or economical task. Aside from other resources like water and energy, manufacturing an inkjet cartridge also involves consuming at least 3 ounces of oil. It is worth mentioning here that millions and millions of such printer cartridges are produced every year. If all these cartridges would be recycled, the oil savings will be huge.

Recycled printer cartridges are not of poor quality

Some people believe that if recycled printer cartridges are cheaper, they are automatically badly made or their quality is poor. This is not true. The quality of recycled cartridges is equal to the quality of original printer cartridges. They are cheaper because the manufacturing costs are smaller and this gives homeowners and company owners from all over the world the possibility to save money on printing supplies while protecting the planet at the same time.

Approximately 25% of all printer cartridges sold worldwide are recycled

Although this is a good thing, it is still not sufficient. The rest of 75% printer cartridges sold worldwide are brand new ones and obviously, the manufacturing processes of these cartridges consume a lot of energy and money. This can be prevented by recycling more printer cartridges.

300 million printer cartridges are thrown away on a yearly basis

If these cartridges would be stacked end-to-end, their length will be able to circle the entire Earth. That actually means 24 thousand miles.

Recycling printer cartridges is not actually that hard

There are many companies out there which have their own recycling programs and which can offer incentives to the customers who recycle their cartridges on a regular basis.

Each and every discarded printer cartridge adds almost 3 pounds of waste

This amount of waste goes directly to landfills and pollutes the planet for a very long period of time. If these cartridges are not thrown in landfills, they will end up in incinerators.

Printer cartridges can be recycled up to 7 times

Although they cannot be recycled infinitely like aluminum, printer cartridges can still save a great deal of resources each time they are "revived". When their 7 "lives" are over, printer cartridges are taken to a waste electrical plant where they are grinded and transformed into garden furniture and broom sticks!

Well, for all those printer fanatics who have enjoyed reading these 11 knowledge nuggets, remember that if you would like to replenish your printing supplies then don’t hesitate to give us a call. Not only that we sell top quality printer cartridges and other printer supplies at reasonable prices, but our specialists can also cater to your unique needs by customizing a monthly printing supplies package for you.