Landfills receive million tons of printer ink and toner cartridges every year. These are thrown away by people who actually do not know that they can be brought back to work by recycling or refilling instead of discarding them in landfills. Refilling the printer cartridge significantly reduces the volume of cartridges diverted to landfills. These cartridges are big environmental threat posing great health hazards as they release toxic substances that can contaminate soil, water, and air. Environmental contamination can continue for longer years since printer units are non-biodegradable which means they do not get easily decomposed like organic matter.
The fact is that both energy and natural resources are preserved if cartridges are reused. It is estimated that more than two liters of natural oil is saved if a typical toner cartridge unit is remanufactured or refilled for reuse. Consider that oil is a non-renewable source of energy. However, besides oil other materials that can be preserved include- plastic, aluminum, and rubber.
When you go with refilling cartridges, you need to purchase refilling kits. These are typically a type of recycling in a sense. You are not purchasing a brand new replacement cartridge, rather, just the ink that is refilled inside the unit. Nothing more is being wasted in the process. Whenever you run out of ink, you can have a refill kit, which contains refilling instructions and the ink itself. What you need to do is to simply refill the empty cartridge by yourself. This way you save money and again, conserve the environment.