Maybe you don’t know that only about 10% of ink cartridges are turned in for recycling. Maybe you don’t know that it can take up to 3,5 qts of oil to produce just one ink cartridge. Maybe you don’t know that there is a super easy way to recycle those ink cartridges, help the planet, save valuable oil resources and make money doing it! That’s right—recycling ink cartridges could be the most profitable and beneficial (planet-arily speaking) fundraising project you’ve ever promoted!
Quick-View Of Ink Cartridge Recycling
Setting up and running an ink cartridge recycling program couldn’t be easier. A few simple steps and you’re there.
Here’s what you’ll have to do:
- Identify your ink cartridge recycling partner – this will be a company who buys used ink cartridges so that they can refurbish them and resell them. Most of these companies operate primarily online, and that is where you can expect to find several good ones.
- Register your organization – pretty much anyone can set up an account for ink cartridge recycling—and it’s all free! At registration, you’ll receive all the information you need to start recycling. Soon after, you’ll be provided with bags, boxes, or envelopes to send the collected ink cartridges to the company in. In most cases, the postage is prepaid—the whole program could be run entirely free!
- Start collecting – you’ll need to do something to get the word out about your program; utilize all your information disseminating resources. Blurb the fundraiser in a newsletter, send out letters explaining the program, write a press release for the local paper, send around an email and/or post the collection on your website. (Note—you don’t have to wait until you get you materials, you can start collecting any time.)
- Remit Collections – remission guidelines vary by company, but by and large they are pretty open-ended; you just send in your ink cartridges whenever it best suits you. On average, a monthly remission works well, but if you collect a lot of cartridges regularly you could send them in more often. On the flip side, organizations that have just a few sometimes prefer to send in the ink cartridges when they’ve collected a fair amount to make the postal trip worth their while.
How Much Will You Make When You Recycle Ink Cartridges?
The potential for profit is limited only by your access to ink cartridges. The more you collect, the more you can remit; on average you’ll get between one and four dollars for each accepted cartridge (depending on the type and your company). The nice thing is that ink cartridge recycling doesn’t have to cost you a thing and the fundraiser can continue on alongside other efforts without competing. If you can partner with some area businesses and/or organizations that go through lots of cartridges, you can turn quite a nice profit. At any rate, ink cartridge recycling is something every needy organization should undertake because the extra income can’t be gotten elsewhere as easily.