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It
is quite likely that, at home or in an organisation, you have been a party
to, or witnessed the casual discarding of inkjet and toner cartridges
which eventually add to the amount going into land-fill. It doesn't have
to be that way, there are ample opportunities to get them recycled. |
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Make
no mistake, recycling printer cartridges is big business. A major part of
the process is collecting the used items and gathering sufficient quantities
so that they can be taken to specialist recyclers. Good firms should be
able to renovate them to a high standard, sometimes with a performance better
than new. If you can get your cartridges to a collector, there is a good
chance that part of the deal will be that one or more charities will benefit.
In some cases you can receive payment yourself. |
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The
other side of this picture is buying recycled cartridges. We're pretty sure
that original equipment manufacturers must make fortunes from supplying
media, especially for inkjets. Witness the low price of printers and the
frequency with which the cartridges run out, especially with a multi-colour
device which may have lots of ink still left when only one colour is exhausted. |
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Be
careful when buying recycled cartridges especially if you use an inkjet
style printer to produce photographs. Colour control is vital to realistic
and pleasing prints and this depends on complex matching throughout from
camera to final print; the exact colour of the inks are a key factor. Beyond
that, fade resistance is very important and something which you might only
notice several months after printing. The solution is only to buy from a
reputable supplier who can accurately specify the products and guarantee
the quality. Then there's another worry; will the recycled cartridge damage
the printer? The OEMs often imply that it will, but they would wouldn't
they? Look for an appropriate guarantee from any independent supplier on
that score too. |
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| Red , Red Rose |
Bee on an Iris |
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view |
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| Click on the stars to
move around the pages, the square buttons for more information and
the silver balls to link to the external site |
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Note that many organisations recycle both printer cartridges and
mobile phones so if you want to see more possibilities have a look
at the mobile phone page too. |
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ActionAid
Recycling collect empty printer, photocopier and fax cartridges, and
unwanted mobile phones; they give 80% of their profits to ActionAid, the
charity who work with over 9 million of the world's poorest people  .
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Against
Breast Cancer (ABC) collect old mobile phones and inkjet and laser
cartridges to recycle and raise funds for their research projects into
breast cancer, diet, lifestyle and natural immunity. They can provide
freepost poly bags, or boxes for larger numbers; visit their web site
for details. |
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The British
Institute for Brain Injured Children recycles inkjet and laser jet toner
cartridges from computers and fax machines .
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Cartridges4charity,
a UK project designed to help the environment and raise funds for charities
through printer cartridge and mobile phone recycling. |
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Cartridge
Cashback run a scheme where you can help the environment and charity
by recycling your old toner and inkjet cartridges .
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The Cartridge
Family sell OEM, compatible and recycled Inkjet & Laser cartridges
compatible with some 2000 printers, fax film, ribbons, paper and printers to authorities, corporates,
schools and home users anywhere in the UK. They give cash-back on empties
as discount against purchase . |
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Cartridge
Shop sell compatible and remanufactured Inkjet Cartridges which are
considerably cheaper than OEM products but of equal quality . |
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Citrus Computers
sell remanufactured HP Cartridges as well as Universal Ink Refills
(compatible with approx 300 popular cartridges) . |
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Collect4School
has a scheme to encourage pupils and parents to collect empty printer cartridges,
which are picked up free of charge. Payment is made to the school for those
that can be recycled. It is free to join and all bins and bags etc are provided
at no cost to members. For info click . |
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Photo by Martin Sletcher |
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Emptycartridge
pay you cash for cartridges you send to them or you can help raise funds
for your school, favourite charity or company. They are suppliers to the
re-manufacturers of Laser & Inkjet printer cartridges . |
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Click the
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Farplace Animal
Rescue funds The National Animal Sanctuary Alliance and other
sanctuaries, across the UK, with income derived from recycling printer cartridges.
To go to Farplace click on the ball; for more info click here . |
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Help the Aged
run toner & inkjet cartridge and mobile phone collection and recycling
services, which bring revenue to the charity. They also collect collect
foreign currency, recycle household goods, spectacles etc . |
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Hewlett Packard
provide a recycling service for their cartridges. Simply pack the old cartridge
in the bag and box that the new one comes in and attach the prepaid return
label. This is a good environmental example from HP. |
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International
Technology Products (UK) Ltd claim to be Europe's largest empty cartridge
dealer. If you have cartridges that you want to donate to charity, or to
sell, or cartridges that you need to buy, wherever you are in the world,
I.T.P. say they can help. |
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K2 Supplies
Ltd specialise in collection, processing and sale of used inkjet and
toner cartridges. As part of a major recharger group they offer competitive
prices and provide free collection across Europe . |
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Kyocera Mita
(UK) Ltd is not a printer cartridge recycling company per se, but claim
to be the leader in environmentally responsible office printing, selling
it's ECOSYS laser printers .
The silver ball will take you to their main page; not an easy site to navigate
but try the link and search. |
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LASERXCHANGE,
a professional printer cartridge remanufacturer, provides an extensive range
of laser toner and inkjet cartridges and a collection program to OEM's,
distributors and dealers in the UK and Europe . |
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Leukaemia CARE provides vital care and support to all those whose lives are affected by leukaemia, lymphoma and the allied blood disorders. Their work includes the welfare of families and carers, as well as patients. For info on donations including stamps, mobiles and cartridges click this button . |
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New Leaf
Recycling, based in south London, offers recycling schemes for printer
cartridges, redundant IT equipment and waste paper; they sell remanufactured
laser printer and inkjet cartridges . |
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Office Green recycle used or unwanted printer cartridges, mobile phones, fluorescent lighting and computer equipment. They can issue companies with a full audit trail plus a Duty of Care Waste Transfer Note to help comply with environmental legislation. They also collect for free and pay for printer cartridges and mobile phones. |
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The PCR (Printer
Cartridge Recycling) Scheme, designed to help reduce waste, supports
a number of UK children's charities. If you use any type of printer or fax,
PCR may be able to accept your used cartridges. PCR now also accept donation
of any old mobile phones to the scheme . |
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Proprint
sell remanufactured inkjet cartridges for Hewlett Packard, Canon, Lexmark.
They give £1 discount voucher for any print cartridge returned . |
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Recycle 4
Charity is a fundraising tool for charities and nfp groups run by BCMY
ltd. They recycle Inkjet Cartridges and Mobiles; they provide all the free
promotional material, advice and information you need in order to raise
funds for the charity, school, club or community group of your choice. |
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Redeem plc (formerly
Eurosource Europe) claim to be international leaders in the collection
and recycling of used inkjet and toner printer cartridges, mobile phones
and accessories. They support schools, youth groups and national charities
and are accredited with ISO 14001 and ISO 9001, EMAS and Investors in People.
Any organisation can start a recycling scheme today to raise money for local
community fund-raising. The company help all these groups to make money
through recycling . |
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Ricoh UK have launched four key recycling initiatives as part of their commitment to environmental conservation: Toner Cartridge, Overhead Projector Cartridge, Cardboard and Toner Bottle recycling. Look under Environment on their site. They also work with the CarbonNeutral Company. |
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Scope
have an active recycling programme covering printer and fax cartridges,
IT equipment/furniture, mobile phones, and drinks cans to raise funds for
disabled people. Details on their Web site, under Recycling . |
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Tristar Toner offers quality recycled, remanufactured laser toner cartridges for use in the home and office on laser printers and faxes. |
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The UK Cartridge
Recyclers Association (UKCRA) set standards for cartridge remanufacture,
aiming to provide printer users with high quality, cost effective, environmentally
friendly alternatives to imported cartridges . |
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WasteOnline
(Waste Watch) provide information about recycling of cartridges, refillable
and remanufactured cartridges and ink refills. |
Grazing Sheep, Photo by Martin Sletcher |
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