BUSINESS TREASURES INK-CTG TRASH

[Anonymous]

Business treasures ink trash
Chain’s stores recycle cartridges to save money, environment
Eco-savviness
and thrift blend at Cartridge World, a printer cartridge recycling
store that attracts customers interested in saving money and the
environment.Cartridge World and stores like it operate on a simple
concept: Rather than pay $20 or $30 apiece for new ink or toner
cartridges for printers, customers can take in their old ones and have
them refilled.Or, customers can buy recycled cartridges refilled with
ink or toner. The end product is up to 50 percent cheaper than
purchasing new.

And it helps the environment.
According
to Recharger magazine, a printer-cartridge trade publication, more than
300 million cartridges get tossed in U.S. landfills each year.Every
remanufactured cartridge saves nearly 3 1/2 pounds of solid waste from
potentially being deposited in landfills. The plastic in each toner
cartridge takes 3 1/2 quarts of oil to produce, and each new inkjet
cartridge requires 2 1/2 ounces of oil.Surprise resident Tim Rockwell,
owner of the shop that opened in May at 17173 N. Litchfield Road in
Surprise, has hopes of grabbing a piece of the nearly $10
billion-a-year cartridge-recycling industry.”When I heard that no
Cartridge World store has ever failed, I was really shocked,” he
said.”I mean, I’ve even seen McDonald’s close, but the fact that
Cartridge Worlds don’t really got my attention.”After reading up on the
cartridge-recycling trend, businessman John Slupka stopped buying new
cartridges in May. He has since reported saving nearly 30 percent in
printer-cartridge costs.”You’re always looking to shave expenses,” said
Slupka, owner of Assist-2-Sell in Surprise.The industry’s
penny-pinching possibilities helped Cartridge World surpass 1,000
stores worldwide in June. The business concept is one also used by big
chains such as Staples and OfficeMax and smaller Island Inkjet kiosks
in shopping malls.However, the global franchise is one of the most
common and fastest-growing chains.The store is meant for cartridge
recycling alone, unlike larger office suppliers selling new cartridges
with a few recycled options. That popularity translates into
dollars.One of the franchise’s most popular stores, in Chicago, raked
in $86,000 in June. Two stores in Idaho bring in around $60,000 each
month on average.Rockwell has yet to break even in his first two
months. But Cartridge World’s corporate figures predict the Surprise
store is on track to become profitable in its fifth month.Though the
cartridge-recycling concept is wallet-friendly for consumers, printer
companies are putting up a fight to keep their customers spending with
many designing cartridges that are difficult to clean and refill.

[Author]

August 16, 2006 at 11:50 AM