Recycle not landfill!

Whether you plan on helping your local school or charity raise some cash, or just fancy a little extra spending money for yourself, you can earn  some extra pennies  collecting and recycling used ink cartridges. This is how to go about it .

Why recycle?

Apart from making some extra cash for your business, charity or whoever. Ink and toner cartridges can take up to 10,000 years to biodegrade in a landfill site which is not great for the environment.

 Who wants your old cartridges? 

Some recycling companies will collect your  empty  ink cartridges & toner cartridges—and will pay you for  each  cartridge you send in. Then they usually sell the cartridges to companies that recycle them and sell them as  cheaper remanufactured cartridges  .

Each of these companies work slightly differently . Sometimes, the charity gets all the profit from the sale of the used cartridges. Sometimes they get most, with a small amount passing to the company. Other companies will pay you directly—and then  pass on  the cartridges on their own. Some will even pay your postage via a freepost envelope—or collect them via courier at their expense.

Companies that do this kind of work can be found by searching for  “cartridge recycling ” on the internet or yellow pages in your area, and then  look at the options available .

You can also sell your cartridges directly to the companies who remanufacturer old cartridges to sell again online. Jet Tec (www.jettec.co.uk is one such company, but others are out there, again check out the internet to find a company that will give you decent money to make a profit for your organization or personal pocket. These companies usually pay more per cartridge than typical  middleman  companies.

 Time to make some cash 

 Once you have decided on a partner for your  cartridge  recycling and you know how much you can make for each cartridge you collect, you’re ready to start the fundraising drive.It is also worth collecting old mobile phones as many recycling companies will also pay you for them. Here are a few ideas for collecting old ink and toner cartridges for recycling.

Visit your local shops. popping down to your    local electrical stores and office supply stores that sell ink and toner cartridges. Some of them may be willing to allow you to  add  a collection  box   in  the shop for customers to deposit their used ink and toner cartridges. Charity shops welcome any extra cash and you can offer to place a collection  point  in the shop and pay them for each cartridge collected. Simply pop round once a fortnight or so to collect the cartridges and pay the charity some cash. Be warned though, that you may find your recycle bins may be full of epson ink cartridges  , so please check that the company you are selling the cartridges too, actually pay you for epson cartridges as many do not.

Visit businesses in your area. Most businesses these days use plenty of cartridges whether they be ink or toner, so it is worth visiting them to see if they can help your cause. Ask employers to perhaps put a note on the companies internal notice board and get employees involved by asking them to bring in empty cartridges from home. Recycling cartridges is a  environmentally friendly  for businesses—and can help build a green reputation which more and more people are seeking these days. Don’t forget your own place of work and your kids school, all of these  places  can be great for collecting used cartridges

Build a web page . If your business has a website,  you can make sure it includes information about your recycling  scheme  . Make sure you include information on where the proceeds  will go  and how  other like minded environmentally  friendly people can get involved  . If you write a press release or do any other promotion, make sure your website address is included as a place where people can get more information.

Do a mail shot. Send out letters to your  businesses  mailing list, making sure everyone in your are knows about the  options available to them  . Make sure your letter includes information  on where they can drop off their cartridges, the types of cartridges accepted, and how they can get involved—either by contributing money or time or by enlisting the help of their own  workplaces  .

Recycling used ink and toner cartridges is a great way to earn money for your  self  . Many cartridge recycling companies only accept cartridges in bulk—and if you can collect enough cartridges, you can take advantage of their recycling programs. Others will happily take a single cartridges via a freepost envelope service. Find a company that will pay for your used cartridges, set up collection points, and then let the public know—and you should be able to earn a decent amount of money.