Franchise reminds businesses, schools and customers to recycle and reuse office supplies to lessen environmental impact, as Earth Day approaches.
To commemorate Earth Day, which will take place on 22 April, Cartridge World has spoken out about the environmental impact used office supplies such as ink and toner cartridges can have on the environment when they are not disposed of responsibly, noting that by recycling their cartridges through programmes such as its own recycling schemes can help to prevent cartridges from taking hundreds of years to decompose in landfills.
The company released statistics to shed light on the impact printer cartridges can have on the environment, stating that HP alone ships more than 52 million printers per year, with most consumers buying thee to four ink cartridges three times per year meaning that 600 million empty ink cartridges are used annually.
In addition, Cartridge World worked out that “almost eight printer cartridges are thrown away per second” in the US; it takes a gallon of oil to produce one new laser cartridge; and 70 percent of used printer cartridges worldwide are discarded.
It added that, as it can take a laser cartridge up to 450 years to decompose on a landfill, with some components made of industrial grade plastics taking over 1,000 years to decompose, the rate at which cartridges are being discarded is having a detrimental impact on the environment that could easily be prevented, claiming that “every laser cartridge that Cartridge World remanufactures saves nearly 2.5 pounds of metal and plastic waste from being deposited in landfills”.
Tom McLaughlin, Marketing Director of Cartridge World, said: “People don’t realise the impact that printer cartridges have on the environment. In North America alone, more than 350 million cartridges are discarded in landfills per year. Cartridge World offers an alternative that is earth-friendly and cost-effective. We recycle more than 4.5 million printer cartridges annually. Plus, each Cartridge World customer saves up to 30 percent off the cost of the equivalent OEM cartridge at a big box store.”