What's the deal with Ink Cartridges? Are they bad?

Question

Ok, this is weird, but every store I go to (e.g Staples, Office Max, even Target) they have some sort of special, like if you bring in a used ink cartridge, you get something like free paper, or a few dollars off a new one. My question is are they bad for the enviorment. All these places just tell you that you get these things if you bring one in, but I have yet to find out exactly why! I am just curious, are they bad for the landfills, or worth money?

Answer 1

Hi, my name is Derrick, and I'm the owner/Operator of a ink refilling store called Printwell in Cornwall Ont.

The are many reason why you should get your cartridges refilled.
#1. It takes 1 gallon of oil to make a ink cartridge and more than 350 million cartridges are thrown out every year.

#2. It takes 450 years for a cartridge to decompose.

#3. When a cartridge is thrown out there is some ink left inside and that could leak in the ground.

#4. When you refill your cartridges, you can save up to 70% on the cost.

#5. Every remanufactured cartridge saves nearly 3 and 1/2 pounds of solid waste from being deposited in landfills

#6. On average a cartridge can be refilled up to 5 times depending on how well you maintain your cartridge. When your cartridge is empty you should put it in a zip lock bag with a moist paper towel to prevent the print head from drying up.

When I refill cartridges, customers bring in their own cartridges to refill, so they are not buying another cartridge.
I hope that this is enough information for you, and if you would like for information feel free to e-mail me at [e-mail]

Answer 2

Used Ink Cartridges are worth money; all the hype that is put out; bad for landfills, good recycling for the enviorment, ect. is nothing but smoke & mirrors, & includes everything from Walgreens, Rapid Refill, Cartridge World & even Colleges & Universities are getting in on it now.

I have been refilling my own Ink Cartridges for ~ 2 months now, & am the process of attempting to start my own Home-Based Business; "Ink Cartridge Refilling" - Computer printers / Scanners; have also been doing massive research.

Example: A 2-year College sets up a "Drop-Box" for m/t cartridges; complete will all the hype. There are several different things college can now [in their best interest] do -
whoever supplies them with ink cartridges / toner will offer them a discount for every m/t; saves college money. m/t's can also be sold on the Internet to refillers.

My HP-22 color cost ~ $18.00 {OEM} @ Wal-Mart; I am refilling my HP-22 for a total cost of ~ ONE-DOLLAR.

Reguardless of wheather you give away or sell your m-t cartridge, here's what happens; [will use HP-22 as example];
m-t will end up with a refiller; total cost of m-t varies with cartridge, but $1.00-$2.00 is common. Lest's say the m/t costs the refiller $2.00 - then adds a maximim of $1.00 worth of ink; the refiller now has a grand total of $3.00 invested in the cartridge; this same cartridge cost $15.00 to refill @ Walgreens, & $17.00 to refill @ Rapid Refill.

There's a lot of bad pubalicity put out about refillers; most can be traced back to the manufacturers of the printers; the Big 4 being HP, Dell, Canon, & Lexmark - they do not want to share their 500% to 800% profit world.

It is true that refills do have more problems than OEM's
{Original Equipment - Cartridges}.

Think this is getting longer than I planned, but m/t's are worth money.

Hope This Helped,

Ken C.

Answer 3

They are no more bad for the environment than any other piece of plastic and metal that size. They are not toxic (well, that is under debate re: laser cartridges).

The reason the stores pay for empty cartridges is because they want them for refill. Stores like Staples refill the cartridges and stick their own label on it, and sell them at a nice profit.

The printer companies will not sell empty cartridges to the "compatible cartridge" sector, and they have to get them from somewhere.

Answer 4

Actually they use empty cartridges to be refilled with ink and used one more time. Both Office Max and Staples sells ink cartridges under their own name at a slightly discounted price. If you Google: Printer Cartridges there are literally dozens of companies who sell re-manufactured cartridges at a very attractive price.

Answer 5

Its all about the money. They can offer you a $3 credit on an empty cartridge, put 25cents worth of ink back in it and sell it to you or others for $20. They really dont care about landfills and the like. Its about the money.

Answer 6

The value of the cartridge and the electronics in it is worth more than the ink so refilling used cartridges is economically viable. There are places that sell refilled cartridges (assuming you bring back the old one) really cheaply rather than fobbing you off with cheap freebies.

Answer 7

Forget Staples, Office World etc.
Over the last 2 years I have printed HUNDREDS of photo's, lots of pages, even thick manuals. I have NOT touched my cartridges..period. I have used the equivalent of 90 cartridges at a cost of £40:00 ($80:00 to our friends over the pond)
Yes, my maths is fine, you like to join me...???
The clue is "Continuous Ink Supply System"...as an intro, look at this link...
http://www.inkexpress.co.uk/index.php?p=ecom&dowhat=fullinfo&prodid=1067
Yes, I know its in UK, Yes, its for an Epson
These systems can be got in USA, for Canon, Epson, some HP and Lexmark.
Do they invalidate your warranty?.... yes, but who cares, you save so much if you need to you can afford to buy a new printer from the savings (Over the last 2 yrs I've used 90 carts worth saved £450 - £40 or...over £400) Environmentally friendly? for me, theres 90 carts not in landfill and £400 in my pocket.

Answer 8

The cartridges are refillable saving the cost of manufacturing a new one. And since cartridges are only half full when new they can fill it to the top and make one that lasts twice as long for an added price,

Answer 9

They are made of plastic which is made from petroleum products. They are not biodegradable in other words they go into the dump and sit there for 10,000 years.

Answer 10

Nothings wrong with them there just eneryday things for some people and no they are not bad