Fathered by the United States’ 37th president Richard Nixon, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) was established in 1970. And to no one’s surprise, it’s purpose is to protect the health of humans and the welfare of the environment.
With the use of ink cartridges and toner cartridges on a steady rise, the EPA couldn’t help but notice the rather unpleasant result that discarded cartridges have in the landfill they’re tossed in. Intent on leaving some sort of messy legacy, cartridges from both ink and toners alike take up to hundreds of years to decompose. And for the good people at the EPA, that was no bueno.
However, thanks to modern technology and companies like Toner Connect there’s a better way to get rid of the waste without being well wasteful.
Initially put out in April 2013, the EPA created a guideline for ways to reduce your ink usage and while you’re at it, save thousands of acres of forestland. Calling it the Electric Challenge, the EPA came up with these clever ways to save on paper and ink.
When creating a word doc you have the option to set your own margins which can be extremely beneficial when it comes to saving on paper.
Right along with reducing margins, tightening up line spacing can get more words on each page. Simply click on the paragraph icon and where it says “line spacing” select “single” or change your setting manually by typing in “0.9”.
Earlier this year Toner Connect divulged what four fonts will save you the most on ink and the EPA agrees. Click here to find out which made the cut. Along with font type, changing the font size to a smaller number can definitely save on space and in the long, on ink and toner as well.
Just by adhering to these four rules it was estimated in 2012 that 170,000 sheets of paper were spared from consumer consumption. In other words, 62 40-foot trees (or someone’s backyard in Oregon) were preserved.
A small victory to be sure but the EPA wasn’t done yet.
Not satisfied with merely saving life-giving trees in our Pacific Northwest, the organization assembled another list and this time it’s on how to save on ink and toner and extend the life of the cartridges we buy.
Double-sided Printing/Shrink to Fit
Reader View Printing
Fast draft/Resolution
One of the more common knowledge ink savers (but we can hardly expect the EPA to come up with everything), double-sided printing not only saves on paper but combining it with the “Shrink to Fit” option and you’ll save on your ink and toner as well. Double-win.
If you find yourself in need of printing a page directly from the internet, one nice way to avoid including all those annoying banners and ads is clicking on the Reader View option. If the page is readable in that mode, alongside the link you will see three and a half lines stacked. It will change the page to only display the text and images directly affiliated with the subject.
By printing from the Reader View, you can bypass all the ads you would normally see along with the page.
Finally, one last way to save on ink is to change the printer setting to Fast Draft for documents that don’t require the ink to stand out in a commercial fashion. Similarly, changing the resolution to a lower setting will help as well. Most new printers begin at 600 DPI and you generally won’t need it so high.
Now that you’re aware of how to save on ink and paper, what do you do with your cartridges when they’re empty? The EPA has an opinion on that too.
But first…
Let’s go over what you can do with your UNUSED cartridges. (Did you think I was going to say “let’s take a selfie”? Because frankly I considered it).
At Toner Connect, this is where our speciality lies and where we come into play. If you’ve ever worked in an office setting or purchased your own home printer you know that the manufacturer will send toner cartridges, and for one reason or another they sometimes end up going unused.
Before the EPA came along and reminded us it was cool to be environmentally friendly, we would have just tossed it in the trash and called it a day. But what if I told you you’d be throwing away money instead? Dumpster diving anyone? Here at Toner Connect we will buy your unused toner cartridge and give you an excellent price for it. And it couldn’t be easier!
There are a few guidelines your toner must adhere to which are as follows:
Completely sealed
From an OEM manufacturer
In the original box
Free from any tampering
To view a complete explanation of our buyback program click here and let us pay you today!
I’ve always been keen on knowing who came up with the idea of recycling. Part of me enjoys picturing a member of the EPA committee sloshing through a depressing landfill and upon spotting an old tennis racket, holding it up and shouting “hey fellows! I bet we could still use this!”
But whatever it’s origins, recycling certainly includes your empty cartridges.
Luckily you have a few options. When it comes to ink cartridges, a lot of people prefer to home fill them which would certainly save money on new ink and of course save the cartridge from a very very very slow death at the dump.
Otherwise, you can do the following:
Return it to the original manufacturer. The company will refurbish it for resale.
Recycle at an office store. Most major office suppliers will have a recycling program in place for toner and ink cartridges.
Toner Connect and the EPA want to keep our earth “green” so the next time you find yourself with an empty ink/toner cartridge, make sure it gets a second life.
