Recycling Printer Cartridges

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Cartridges 4 Planet Ark is an innovative recycling program that provides Australians with a free and easy way to recycle their used printer cartridges. On this RecyclingNearYou site Australians can find literally thousands drop off of locations around the country to recycle their used printer cartridges and toner bottles. Find out more.

Everything you need to know about recycling printer cartridges

Recycling Printer Cartridges includes:
Ink Cartridges Toner Cartridges Inkjet Laser cartridges Toner modules Ink modules Printing supplies Supply cartridges Cartridges

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Learn more about printer cartridges

How to recycle printer cartridges

Cartridges 4 Planet Ark is a free recycling scheme that has been operating for more than 20 years. There are more than 1,500 public drop-off locations around the country. So far, more than 57 million cartridges have been recycled through the scheme.

Recycling locations

Empty laser and inkjet cartridges can be recycled at?all Officeworks?stores and participating Australia Post, Cartridge World, Harvey Norman, The Good Guys, JB Hi-Fi, Office National and Office Products Depot outlets. Use the directory on this page to find a recycling point near you.

Please note, some boxes may not be visible or on display due to limited store floor space. In these cases, please ask the staff at the counter and hand your cartridges directly to them.

What's accepted?

Printer cartridges from participating brands are accepted in the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark program. This includes cartridges used in printers, photocopiers and fax machines . The program accepts inkjet cartridges, laser cartridges, toner bottles, fuser and drum units, fax rolls, print heads, waste hoppers/containers collectors and kits.

The Cartridges 4 Planet Ark program is an example of an extended producer responsibility program. The six participating brands , Brother, Canon, Cartridge World, Epson, HP, and Kyocera pay for the collection and recycling of their cartridges.

Why recycle?

When printer cartridges break apart in landfill, they have the potential to contaminate groundwater and the environment. Recycling your used cartridges instead of putting them in the bin, protects the environment and keeps the materials used to make the cartridges in use.

As cartridges are made up of a complex mix of plastics, metal, inks and toners, they represent a significant investment in resources. When they are disposed of into landfill these resources are lost. Recycling ensures these materials are used again, which reduces demand for mining new materials and associated greenhouse gas emissions.

What happens to them?

All cartridges collected through the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark program are sent to our recovery partner in Melbourne, Close the Loop™. The program has a zero waste to landfill guarantee, which means every part of the cartridge is recovered and used again.

At the recycling facility, the cartridges are hand sorted and their brand and type recorded. Many of the laser cartridges are sent back to the original equipment manufacturers for re-manufacturing or recovery programs.

As cartridges are made up of a complex mix of potentially valuable and/or hazardous raw materials, they require state-of-the-art equipment for safe processing and handling. 

Inkjet cartridges, toner bottles and drum units are processed and reduced to smaller particles so they can be separated and sorted. Magnets are used to remove ferrous (iron-based) metals, while eddie currents are used to remove aluminium. 

The result is the recovery of 'raw' materials, which can be substituted for 'virgin' or new materials in manufacturing to make new products.  

Recycling printer cartridges at work

If your workplace, business, community group, university or school uses more than three inkjet, toner cartridges or toner bottles in a month you may be eligible for a Cartridges 4 Planet Ark collection box.

Find out more

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I dispose of used printer cartridges?

Cartridges 4 Planet Ark is a free recycling program that has a zero waste to landfill guarantee. There are thousands of recycling locations across the country including many retailers and Aus Post stores, making it very easy to drop off used printer and toner cartridges for recycling. Use the directory on this page to find a recycling drop-off point near you. Printer and toner cartridges should never be put in your recycling bin at home as they will contaminate the other materials in the prevent, which could prevent them from being recycled. They must be dropped off at designated collection points to be recycled.
If your workplace, business, community group, university, or school uses more than three (3) inkjet, toner cartridges or toner bottles in a month you may be eligible for a Cartridges 4 Planet Ark collection box. You can call 1800 24 24 73 

How to recycle old printer cartridges?

Cartridges 4 Planet Ark is a free recycling program that has a zero waste to landfill guarantee. There are thousands of recycling locations across the country including many retailers and Aus Post stores, making it very easy to drop off used printer and toner cartridges for recycling. Use the directory on this page to find a recycling drop-off point near you.

Printer and toner cartridges should never be put in your recycling bin at home as they will contaminate the other materials in the prevent, which could prevent them from being recycled. They must be dropped off at designated collection points to be recycled.

If your workplace, business, community group, university, or school uses more than three (3) inkjet, toner cartridges or toner bottles in a month you may be eligible for a Cartridges 4 Planet Ark collection box. You can call 1800 24 24 73 or register online

Are printer ink cartridges recyclable?

Yes, but they should never be placed in your recycling bin at home as they will contaminate the other items in the bin. They can be recycled through commercial recycling services or through Australia’s free recycling program, Cartridges 4 Planet Ark . The program has thousands of recycling locations across the country, making it very easy to drop off used printer and toner cartridges for recycling. Use the directory on this page to find a recycling drop-off point near you. If your workplace, business, community group, university, or school uses more than three (3) inkjet, toner cartridges or toner bottles in a month you may be eligible for a Cartridges 4 Planet Ark collection box. You can call 1800 24 24 73 or register online .

Do Officeworks recycle printer cartridges?

Yes, printer and toner cartridges can be dropped off for recycling at most Officeworks stores. The cartridges will be recycled through Cartridges 4 Planet Ark program. Use the directory on this page to find a recycling point near you.

How to dispose of laser printer cartridges?

Printer cartridges from participating brands are accepted in the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark program. This includes inkjet cartridges, laser cartridges, toner bottles, fuser and drum units, fax rolls, print heads, waste hoppers/containers collectors and kits. Use the directory on this page to find a recycling drop-off point near you.

Where can I recycle printer and toner cartridges?

Cartridges 4 Planet Ark is a free recycling program that has a zero waste to landfill guarantee. There are thousands of recycling locations across the country including many retailers and Aus Post stores, making it very easy to drop off used printer and toner cartridges for recycling. Use the directory on this page to find a recycling drop-off point near you.

Printer and toner cartridges should never be put in your recycling bin at home as they will contaminate the other materials in the prevent, which could prevent them from being recycled. They must be dropped off at designated collection points to be recycled.

If your workplace, business, community group, university, or school uses more than three (3) inkjet, toner cartridges or toner bottles in a month you may be eligible for a Cartridges 4 Planet Ark collection box. You can call 1800 24 24 73 or register online

Can I put printer cartridges in the recycle bin?

No. Printer and toner cartridges should never be put in your recycling bin at home or work. They can only be recycled through specialised recycling services.

is a free recycling program that has a zero waste to landfill guarantee. There are thousands of recycling locations across the country including many retailers and Aus Post stores, making it very easy to drop off used printer and toner cartridges for recycling. Use the directory on this page to find a recycling drop-off point near you. Printer and toner cartridges should never be put in your recycling bin at home as they will contaminate the other materials in the prevent, which could prevent them from being recycled. They must be dropped off at designated collection points to be recycled.

If your workplace, business, community group, university, or school uses more than three (3) inkjet, toner cartridges or toner bottles in a month you may be eligible for a Cartridges 4 Planet Ark collection box. You can call   1800 24 24 73 or register online

Who recycles printer cartridges?

Cartridges 4 Planet Ark program more than 20 years ago. The program has collected and recycled almost 57 million cartridges in that time. The program is free to use because it is supported by participating manufacturers of printer cartridges: Brother, Canon, Cartridge World, Epson, HP, and Kyocera. Our Melbourne-based recycling partner, Close the Loop recycles the cartridges and is independently audited on an annual basis for its zero waste to landfill guarantee.

Why is it important to recycle printer cartridges?

As cartridges are made up of a complex mix of plastics, metal, inks and toners they represent a significant investment in resources. When they are sent to landfill instead of a recycling facility, these resources are lost. Recycling your used printer and toner cartridges ensures the materials are used again to make new products, which reduces demand to extract new materials from the earth and associated greenhouse gas emissions.



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