Millions of businesses, schools and other organizations around the world purchase and use billions of printer and copier toner cartridges every year. Toner cartridges are just another item on the laundry list of things that humans use and commonly throw away, but why? Anyone who has ever changed the toner in a copy machine or printer knows that it is usually a very large, bulky plastic container which gets changed once a week or month and then has no use to you whatsoever afterwards. Although it may not be of use to you personally or your company, there are benefits to hanging on to toner cartridges and contributing them to a recycler or remanufacturer.

When you recycle your toner cartridges, you should first take a moment to pat yourself on the back for your valiant efforts helping to reduce pollution and make the world a better place for everyone on it. When you're finished with that it's time to put on your capitalist hat and get moving because there are financial benefits to recycling toner cartridges too. There are companies that refill and sell previously used toner cartridges that will pay a few dollars per cartridges for your empties. You probably won't become rich turning in your old cartridges, just like you won't by recycling cans, but coupled with a few other financial benefits, you might begin to see why recycling is worth it.

If you want to recycle toner cartridges, first you need to use them. If this does not apply to you then you should probably skip the reading and start picking up cans. Seriously though, if you use one or two toner cartridges per year, you should still recycle them but your will probably not see much reason to sell them to a remanufacturer. It may also be difficult to get them to purchase just one or two from you. Most remanufacturers are looking to purchase from large companies that can send them pallets or even truckloads once every month or two. Otherwise you can donate your empties to a charity that is collecting them to sell in bulk to remanufacturers in order to make money for their organization. This is a common fundraiser for schools, churches, youth organizations and others. If it is not available in your community, you might want to suggest it within a charity or non-profit you are affiliated with.

Where most individuals will see the greatest benefit of recycled toner cartridges is in purchasing remanufactured ones. Professional, quality refilled cartridges can be much less expensive than new name brand ones and often just as good. When purchasing these, however, make sure it is a reputable remanufacturer that gives some form of guarantee with their product both for its malfunction and any damage it could cause to your machine. This is especially important because most manufacturers of printers and copiers will only warranty malfunction caused by their machine and their print cartridges. As long as the remanufacturer does a quality job, you will probably find that the best reason to recycle toner cartridges is to buy them again refilled, as good as new and much less expensive.