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Ask Slashdot: What To Do With Empty Toner Cartridges?
New submitter MoarSauce123 writes: Over time I accumulated a number of empty toner cartridges for a Brother laser printer. Initially, I wanted to take a local office supply chain store up on their offer to give me store credit for the returned cartridge. For that credit to be issued I would have to sign up for their store card providing a bunch of personal information. The credit is so lousy that after the deduction from the sales price of a new toner cartridge the price is still much higher than from a large online retailer. And the credit only applies to one new cartridge, so I cannot keep collecting the credit and then get a cartridge 'for free' at some point.
I also looked into a local store of a toner refill chain. Their prices are a bit better, but the closest store is about half an hour away with rather odd business hours. Still, at the end they charge more than the large online retailer asks for a brand new cartridge. For now I bring the empty cartridges to the big office supply store and tell them that I do not want their dumb store credit. I rather have big corp make some bucks on me than throw these things in the trash and have it go to a landfill. Are there any better options? Anything from donating it to charity to refilling myself is of interest.
I also looked into a local store of a toner refill chain. Their prices are a bit better, but the closest store is about half an hour away with rather odd business hours. Still, at the end they charge more than the large online retailer asks for a brand new cartridge. For now I bring the empty cartridges to the big office supply store and tell them that I do not want their dumb store credit. I rather have big corp make some bucks on me than throw these things in the trash and have it go to a landfill. Are there any better options? Anything from donating it to charity to refilling myself is of interest.
How about hiding them behind an icon?
At the bottom of the
Seriously, just Google it: brother toner cartridge recycling program
For most Brother cartridges you can find refill kits for a fraction of what even generic toner carts with poor reviews cost. I've had good luck with mine, though you WILL want to buy new end caps as they get damaged enough when you remove them that they will almost always leak toner which makes a mess and ruins prints.
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We have a couple of Brother laser printers in the house .. one's just a printer, the other is the same laser printer base with a scanner/fax/photocopier thing on the top. The both use the same cartridge.
The problem is that a new toner cartridge costs as much as a new printer, which comes with a toner cartridge. It's almost not cost effective to replace the cartridge.
Every time we need a new cartridge my wife wants to recycle the printer and buy a new one.
The idea of that makes me cringe, but I can't defend that it costs less to buy the toner cartridge attached to a printer.
I don't know what to tell you to do. If the choice is jump through ridiculous hoops, pay extra, or say to hell with it and bin the cartridges ... I'm afraid chucking them in the garbage is the easiest choice.
If they're going to make it impossible to recycle the toner cartridges, people might give up on trying.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Although you can make a bong from an old toner cartridge, it's probably not a good idea.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
They don't accept dead FedEx batteries?
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Call Goodwill and other charities that specialize in job-training. Some of them may do printer-cartridge-recycling in-house and would love to have your recyclable cartridges.
Others charities may not do it in-house but they may have buyers lined up to buy cartridges in bulk and will take your donated cartridges.
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Bludgeon Dice employees to death with them.
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Time to offend someone
I bought a laser cutting machine, put it on low, and just burn the text onto the paper. No cartridges to return or refill ever. I currently use solar panels for power, but I don't like the 80% inefficiency, so I am looking into using a lens and fiberoptics to use the light directly. This way I can also incorporate a prism and do color printing.
would you even consider to throw these into normal trash. Here in Germany, that would get you fined - (almost) empty laser printer cartridges are nearly on the same level of nastiness as old engine oil.
On the other hand, if you do not find a commercial recycling program you like (every toner manufacturer and seller on the German market has to take back its empty cartridges at zero cost, and of course we also have companies which specialize in refills and pay a few dimes for used cartridges), every communal recycling center accepts toner cartridges free of charge. And in case they'd manage to make some bucks of them, it goes into the city budget. No need for charity shopping.
This is from private use...and yes, I do have bigger issues to deal with, but given the many dumb responses here I wonder by now if asking on slashdot was not a colossal mistake. C'mon folks, do you really have to be so mean when someone asks a simple question?