Green Office: Maximize Printer Ink
It may be more apparent around the holidays, but approximately 30% of all household waste is made of packaging. Containers, boxes, plastic, Styrofoam, and shrink wrap are used to bring products safely and attractively into your home or office.
Printer ink cartriges are a small step above often gratuitous packaging, but it’s common for people to throw these little plastic boxes away when they’re drained.
Instead, here are two solutions to consider that save resources and money:
1. Refill:
When I bought my laptop, I fell for the trap of getting a cheapo printer along with it. Call me a sucker, but it seemed like a great deal - until I realized what Dell charges for a plain ol’ black ink cartridge (not to mention 3-color!). Ouch!
Refilling them is an easy process at chain stores like Rapid Refill who take your old cartridge and fill it back up with quality ink. They sometimes throw in a discount on this already inexpensive service if you’re a repeat customer.
HP, Dell, and friends would like you to think that refilling doesn’t work, but I’ve tried it. No problems. In some cases you’ll void your warantee or possibly worse, so be informed. Still, refilling decreases the need to produce new cartridges with virgin material - and can save you money without compromising quality.
2. Resell and recycle
Many Staples stores offer an in-store rebate for brand name ink cartridges - and the bonus is a $3 credit for each. Staples online InkDrop program gives you a pile of free shipping envelopes, a $30 credit, will recycle your old cartridge, and send you a replacement. Easy.
I didn’t unearth any similar programs from other big box office stores. But I did note that a number of them sell recycled cartridges for a slightly lower price than new. This is a great way to support the recycling industry while still saving some cash.
Have you had success with these recommendations? Do you know of other resources? Chime in with your experiences.
Tags: green, ink, office, office depot, printer ink, recycle, staplesRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Green Office
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