5 Places To Recycle Your Ink & Toner Cartridges

By Denise Resendez

Make Tomorrow A Little Greener
Recycle your printer cartridges for a greener tomorrow!

One of the most frequent questions we receive from our customers is, “Where do I recycle my empty cartridges?”. At this time, we don’t recycle used printer cartridges, but we would like to help. Some of the statistics around ink and toner cartridges are alarming. For example, did you know 60% to 80% of all used toner cartridges end up in landfills? Take in mind that it can take up to 1,000 years for a printer cartridge to completely decompose in a landfill site.

Too often we hear of stories we customers end up throwing away their empty cartridges because they don’t know where to send them. So we compiled a list below of some friendly online places to recycle ink and toner cartridges.

5 Sites to Recycle Your Ink & Toner Cartridges in the United States

There is no shortage of online places to send your printer cartridges for recycling. Below is just five of them that will pay for your shipping labels. Some of them will even give cash back for your cartridges! Though, this usually applies for OEM (original equipment manufacturer) cartridges from brands like HP or Epson.

  1. Milner: Accepts all ink and toner cartridges (both OEM and remanufactured). They stand by “we recycle any cartridge, regardless of manufacturer, with a zero-landfill” policy. Compensation for cartridges is not given out, though, if that is something you are looking for.
  2. Planet Green Recycle: Accepts all ink cartridges (“regardless of make, model or condition”), but not toner cartridges. They give compensation only for OEM ink cartridges that are in good condition and can be remanufactured.
  3. Ink Recycling: Accepts ink cartridges (both OEM and remanufactured), but not toner cartridges. Only will give cash back for OEM cartridges.
  4. US Recycling: Accepts most ink and toner cartridges (both OEM and remanufactured). Has a program for schools, non-profits, and businesses as well.
  5. Funding Factory: A great option for schools and non-profit organizations to help raise money. Accepts ink and toner cartridges from their qualifying list. These items must be undamaged and not previously remanufactured.

Do you have a site that you prefer sending your ink or toner cartridges to for recycling? Leave us a comment below so we can continually update this list!