Carroll County Times Articles
High-Tech and Environmentally Correct –
Is There a Balance?
by Tracy Rouchard – September 24, 2006
Today, almost everyone you know uses a computer and a printer on a daily basis. Here in Carroll County we are no different, continually using the computer and printing contracts at work, directions from Mapquest.com, recipes & coupons, pictures, and of course kids printing their homework. We Carroll Countians are all in the "high-tech" world, whether we like to admit it or not.
Our use of computers, software, the Internet, etc. provides us instant access to any information we could possibly need. While all of this technology is critical to the success of our businesses, our households, our children's educations and our personal need to know whatever it is we want to know right now, there is an aspect that is harmful to the environment that many do not consider or realize. The printer cartridges that we use, whether black, color, ink or laser, are not the most environmentally friendly piece of modern technology.
Industry Waste
According to industry studies, there are over 500 printer cartridges thrown away every minute in the United States. An average cartridge can take up to 450 years to decompose in a landfill. In addition, to produce a small to average sized laser/toner cartridge, almost a gallon of oil is required. So what can we as average citizens and business owners do? We need to use our printers - I know that I personally could not make it through a day without using mine. The answer is we can recycle.
Refilling and Recycling
This is not a new concept and has been done for years, but if you do not live on the West Coast you have had limited exposure to this idea. Your HP, Epson, Dell, Lexmark, Canon, Brother etc. ink cartridges can be refilled and reused anywhere from 5-12 times. Your toner cartridge may be able to be filled indefinitely if the outside casing and critical parts remain intact. By refilling and recycling your cartridges, you could cut back on pollution, put a small dent in our reliance on foreign oil, and teach our children by example that there are several ways to be environmentally conscientious.
For those skeptics out there who say that they tried it before and had no success, this is where technology steps back into the picture. Since the first days of messy and unproven cartridge refilling practices, this idea of recycling has gone corporate. Along with the corporate entrance into the cartridge recycling world came investments into the technology. The result is new, and now proven methods, new machinery and news tools to get the job done. In addition, inks and toners have been broken down by chemists and replicated so that the quality of today's refilled cartridges can be just as good as those of the original manufacturer.
Financial Savings
But wait – this story gets even more interesting. Not only is having your cartridges refilled the environmentally correct thing to do, it is also the financially better option. By having your cartridge refilled, the average consumer can save up to 30-50% off of the cost of a new retail cartridge. Hundreds of dollars could be shaved off of a family's annual budget, and a business, depending on the number of times they purchase cartridges, could save one to several thousands of dollars each year. Knowing this, why wouldn't we recycle?
Next time your printer flashes that it is low on ink or toner, remember to save the cartridge, have it refilled, and help save the environment, as well as your money.
About the Author
Tracy Rouchard is the owner of Cartridge World in Westminster, and a member of the Carroll Technology Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating businesses, government and residents about technology issues. Questions are welcomed and may be addressed in future articles. Email advisors@carrolltechcouncil.org or go to www.carrolltechcouncil.org for a list of Advisor categories.
The viewpoints expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Carroll Technology Council.
