Interesting Facts
InknTonerUK has compiled some facts about printing and cartridges. Enjoy!
Over 1.1 billion inkjet cartridges are consumed around the world annually which is enough to go from end to end of the Great Wall of China a 129 times.
Printer ink has a higher cost per unit than space rocket fuel.
17 million toner cartridges were recycled within the last five years in Europe. It also saved 6 million litres of virgin oil from being used which is enough to fill 3 Olympic size swimming pools.
Cartridge recycling in the UK could save 15 million litres of oil from being used within one year.
Chester Carlson invented Xerography technology in 1938 which is still used today in photocopiers and laser printers.
Environmental Facts
It’s also worth noting that over 45 million ink and toner cartridges are sent to UK landfill sites per year (1800 tonnes).
This is the equivalent of:
The weight of 18 Blue Whales
An area the size of 17 Old Trafford football stadiums
15 times the length of Hadrian’s Wall (1095 miles)
Enough to build a second Blackpool Tower
Around 15% of printer ink cartridges are used in recycling within the UK.
97% of materials and components from a typical toner cartridge can be reused.
Plastics used in ink and toner cartridges use engineering grade polymers which take up to 1000 years to decompose.
Drum units or imaging drums can also be recycled.
It is estimated that by 2012 there will be 500 million toner cartridges and 1.8 billion ink cartridges deposited in landfills.
There is about an 80% reduction in energy used in remanufacturing plastic than producing it.
In the US, 13 printer cartridges are disposed of every second, cumulating to an estimated 375 million printer cartridges per year. Furthermore, the equivalent weight is that of 112,463 Volkswagen Beetles or 67,612 Ford Explorers.
A Slippery Slope
Recycling 1 million ink and toner cartridges saves approximately 19 thousand barrels of oil from being used.
Remanufactured or compatible toner cartridges use about half the amount of oil in their manufacture than original brand new ones.
Approximately 3.5 litres of oil are used in the manufacture of a single toner cartridge and 90 ml of oil used for an ink cartridge.
A whole barrel of oil is used for every 50 cartridges that are manufactured from new.
Consumer Facts
Every year over 65 million printer cartridges are consumed in the UK alone.
A 65% reduction in costs can be obtained by using recycled printer ink cartridges when compared to original brands.
20 to 30% of all ink and toner cartridges sold worldwide are remanufactured.
Additionally, printer cartridges can be remanufactured between 3 to 7 times. Using a remanufactured toner cartridge will also reduce 3.5 pounds of waste from going to landfill.