How to dispose of used toner cartridges?

Hey there.

I’ve been digging around online, but I can't seem to find any straight answers. I’ve ended up with a mountain of old toner cartridges from various printers and faxes, plus some inkjet ones too. I assume they need to be recycled—probably legally required, much like old batteries—but here's the snag: these HP cartridges offer a paid mail-in recycling program, but it’s not available for us here in the States. Does anyone know who handles this kind of thing around the New York City area? I want to drop them off somewhere where they actually get processed instead of just being tossed into a standard landfill, which is apparently how "recycling" works around here sometimes. It would also be great if there was a way to get a little kickback for them; I heard a rumor about someone in NYC who did refills and offered discounts on reloaded cartridges, but I can't track them down anymore...

Thanks for the help!

Get in touch with the micro team:

They buy up empty toner cartridges.

Does anyone have any firsthand experience with toner.je.to?

What’s the actual quality of their compatible cartridges like?

The whole setup seems pretty straightforward and reliable enough from where I'm sitting.

I’m actually wondering about this too... It’s not even about getting any money back, I just
don't want to toss them in the trash. I have a massive mountain of old CDs sitting here. Where am I supposed to put all this stuff?

Ronald Thompson32 said:I'm actually curious about this too... it's not even about getting any money back, I just don't want to
throw it all in the trash. I have a massive mountain of CDs sitting here. What am I supposed to do with them?

At recycling centers or even just at the dump, there are usually bins specifically labeled for 'e-waste.' I assume that's where you'd drop stuff like this off...

At least that kind of bin exists in my city.

Check out toner-refill-services.com

I’ve had great luck using them personally. They refill your cartridges for about half the price, and it actually helps you deal with all that extra waste.

I think they might even buy back old cartridges if you have extras lying around.

Third-party toner cartridges just aren't reliable; they run out far too quickly...

Ronald Thompson32 said:I’m feeling this too... honestly, it’s not even about the buyback value, I just don't
want to see it all end up in a landfill. I've got a massive stack of CDs sitting here. What am I supposed to do with them all?

I usually toss my CDs or DVDs with actual important data into the microwave for about 15 seconds first. After that, they go straight into the HDPE bin at the local recycling center. Same deal for toners, printers, and all that junk.

Aaron Stewart7 said:Third-party toner cartridges just aren't reliable for me; they run out way too fast.

So, how much life are we talking about compared to the OEM stuff?
They burn through faster, sure, but you can't argue with that price gap compared to the official brands.
Personally, I stick to the genuine toner and ink for my main gear, but for the laser printer we use for everyday office tasks... well, it lasts. It’s been about two years now, and I've clocked roughly 6,000 pages of text and demo graphics out of it.

Bernie Sanders, thanks for the input. 👍