DON’T TOSS THAT PRINTER CARTRIDGE !

[Anonymous]

Don’t toss that printer cartridge — recycle it
A new store in Meridian is joining a growing number of businesses that are making money and reducing landfill waste from inkjet and laser printer cartridges.

Caboodle Cartridge — a nationwide business that takes customers’ empty cartridges and refills them for a lower-than-original price — opened Friday.

Recycling and reusing old cartridges could reduce the approximately 375 million printer cartridges that are thrown into landfills each year, said Pete Bower, president of the company’s Idaho franchise.
Reusing cartridges saves oil used in the cartridge-manufacturing process, Bower said. About three quarts of oil go into making a new laser cartridge.

“By reusing them, it’s a boon to the environment,” says Keith Sinclair, outside sales manager at the store in Meridian.
Caboodle Cartridge is part of a growing trend of businesses offering reused cartridges for prices less than charged for new items.

Recycled printer cartridges retail for half the price for newly manufactured cartridges or less.

Several businesses that reuse or recycle old cartridges have already popped up in the Treasure Valley.
Residents have the option of taking their empty cartridges for recycling and/or buying remanufactured cartridges at a number of local businesses:

• Cartridge World
• Cartridge Connection

• Rapid Refill Inc.

• Office Max
• Staples

Ask to find out what their policies on reusing or recycling cartridges are. It’s also a good idea to check with your printer’s manufacturer to see what will work best with your printer.
Sinclair says Caboodle Cartridge sends cartridges to a central company facility for refill. Some stores refill cartridges on-site.

Cartridge recycling is “stewardship for the environment,” he says. California-based Caboodle Cartridge has more than 25 locations nationwide. The Meridian store is at 520 S. Meridian Road at the Meridian Market Place.

[Author]

June 20, 2005 at 10:21 AM