Recycling Program

Ever wonder what happens to a used toner cartridge when send it back for recycling? The PrintSmart team has partnered with both Xerox and Mister Paper to ensure the raw materials in the toner cartridge you return are recovered and reused. A remanufactured printer cartridge is a cartridge that has been restored to its original performance standards and function. This process thereby diverts the cartridge from the solid waste stream, retaining, to the extent practicable, components that have been through at least one life cycle and replacing consumable or normal wear components.

A remanufactured cartridge does not include a new plastic casing. Remanufactured is considered the highest form of recycling by the Environmental Protection Agency because it requires the least amount of energy to make a product ready for reuse.

On average, approximately 60% by volume of used cartridges returned to Xerox alone are remanufactured. Remanufacturing toner cartridges contain an average of 90% reused/recycled parts and helps save up to 80% of energy that would be required to produce a new cartridge. The other 40% of supplies returned to Xerox and our other partner are recycled to the market as usable raw materials as such as plastics, steel, aluminum and rubber to reduce pollution and waste by minimizing the amount of materials disposed of in landfills.

As part of this ongoing initiative, PrintSmart has teamed up with the Office of Sustainability along with Mail & Document Services to develop a process to recycle toner cartridges from both your PrintSmart devices and all other non-Xerox printers & copiers (all brands). This simple and convenient process will enable you to dispose all of your toner cartridges in an environmentally responsible manner.

Recycling for On-Site Campus Locations

All toner cartridges will be collected by Mail and Document Services and taken to Central Stores to be sent back to the manufacture for recycling. By centralizing the collection, we will be able to track the weight of toner cartridges recycled and determine the impact we’re having as a University along with reducing our carbon footprint and traffic safety by decreasing the amount of UPS trucks on campus.

In order to recycle your toner cartridges, simply follow these four easy steps:

  • Place the used toner cartridge in the same bag that your replacement cartridge arrived
  • Place bag with used toner cartridge in the same box that your replacement toner cartridge arrived
  • Seal the box (both ends)
  • Place sealed box with your outgoing campus mail. Do not place the replacement cartridge in your mail tub/container. Place the properly packaged cartridge next to your tub/container to prevent damaging the mail.

Recycling for Off-Site Campus Locations

If your Center, Department or Unit is located off-campus, you’ll need to follow the following steps in order to recycle your toner cartridges. They include:

  • Place only the used PrintSmart toner cartridge in the same bag that your replacement cartridge arrived. (please continue recycle non-Xerox toner utilizing the same process as before).
  • Place bag with used toner cartridge in the same box that your replacement toner cartridge arrived
  • Seal the box (both ends)
  • Remove any prior shipping or address labels from the box.
  • Click here to print out a free shipping label from Xerox
  • Place sealed box with your outgoing mail. Place the properly packaged cartridge next to your tub/container to prevent damaging the mail.

Can I return new supplies?

This process is for the recycling of used supplies only. If you have unused supplies to return, please contact your original point of sale for return material authorization.

Why Recycle your Toner Cartridges?

  • On average each laser toner cartridge contains 2.5 pounds of plastic, one pound of metal and takes 1,000 years to degrade.
  • Over 1.3 Billon inkjet cartridges are consumed each year, less than 30% of these cartridges are recycled. In one year, if the world’s discarded cartridges were stacked end-to-end, they would circle the earth twice.
  • The aftermarket imaging supplies industry is responsible for diverting from landfills over 11.9 M pounds of plastic and 9 M pounds of metal.