Thanks to Print Green USA for this article:

Lexmark and THE PREBATE:

Each quarter, Lexmark releases yet another financial statement reinforcing its “supplies-driven” profitability. It is making more dollars from the sale of cartridges than the sale of printers.

And how environmentally friendly are its programs?

Lexmark’s Prebate program (now known as its environmentally friendly “return” program) gives a discount at the time of sale if the customer agrees to return the cartridge to Lexmark, or at least agrees to not give it to a remanufacturer. So, a customer has already been rewarded for buying this “environmentally friendly” product, and any incentive to recycle it is long forgotten. When the cartridge is spent, the customer may find it inconvenient to return it to Lexmark. Still wanting to do the right thing, the customer attempts to sell or give it to a remanufacturer. The cartridge’s Prebate restrictions forbid its being remanufactured, so the preferable reuse option is foreclosed. Lexmark has testified in its lawsuit with Static Control Components that it gets back 50 percent of its Prebate cartridges, and that those cartridges are then remanufactured or recycled by Lexmark.

This begs the question: Are Lexmark’s recycling partners involved in legitimate recycling?

And what about the other 50 percent of the cartridges sold by Lexmark under the Prebate program?

They are condemned to landfills, as the Prebate restrictions mandate that they cannot be remanufactured by a third party. If a remanufacturer risks legal action by remanufacturing the Prebate cartridge, it runs into the chip problem. The chip acts as the enforcement device for the Prebate restrictions. It will determine if the cartridge has been remanufactured and will shut down the printer. Aftermarket chip solutions have been developed by several aftermarket vendors, one of whom has been sued by Lexmark for their ingenuity. Think Green Gwinnett! Start small, recycle, turn off the lights, recycle your laser toners…

To add even more insurance that the cartridge will not be remanufactured, Lexmark frequently changes the firmware in the printers through “upgrades” and during routine service maintenance. The firmware acts like a virus and renders many viable aftermarket solutions worthless.

Therefore, a Lexmark customer wanting to remanufacture the (return program) cartridge is frustrated at every turn. This is a classic bate and switch scheme.

Recycle!! 

Begin by saving and recycling empty ink cartridges. Did you know that ink cartridges can be recycled six times?  Statistics show that every second, 13 printer ink cartridges are being disposed of.  Local landfills are are overflowing with cartridges that could be recycled!

An Internet search helped you locate our website and we will provide you information on how to recycle your empty ink cartridges. Most internet companies will list of the types of cartridges that they will accept, however we have resources that accept all types of laser toners and ink cartridges.  Occasionally, schools, charities, and churches run fundraising drives where they will collect empty ink cartridges and sell them to raise money. It offers a good way to go green while raising funds for their organizations. Some office supply stores will offer a  $2.00-$3.00 store refund on several brands of ink cartridges. While not all ink cartridges are accepted, yours could be and you can combine helping the environment and saving money!

Some of these companies refurbish the cartridges. It is more economical to remanufacture the cartridges than to buy new ink cartridges, thus allowing the consumers to purchase them at a great savings.

The enormous amount of used ink cartridges being thrown away costs taxpayers money and is devastating to the environment.  Plastic takes many years to decompose and, to make matters worse, is manufactured with an oil base.  It is thought that approximately 20% of used ink cartridges are currently being recycled.  This is a start, however there are still too many being disposed of in landfills.  Simply throwing an ink cartridge away is akin to tossing money into a trash can.

Please consider recycling your ink cartridges.  It is a good move for you and a great move for the environment.  Check the Internet or your local newspaper to locate ink cartridge recycling locations in your area or contact us "Georgia Ink Cartridge Recycling Initiative". Begin recycling today!

For more information please visit Print Green Tips, a popular blog on various printer topics and a portal for finding discount ink and quality affordable inkjet cartridges and toner cartridges.

MORE REASONS TO RECYCLE YOUR INKJET OR LASER TONER CARTRIDGES:

The number of ink cartridges being used annually continues to rise at an alarming rate.  The availability of technological advance, such as digital photography, will increase the number of ink cartridges being used exponentially.

Landfills are overflowing with used ink cartridges and because they are made of plastic they take many years to decompose.  In fact, their decomposition is second only to diapers.  Environmentally and economically this is a disaster.

Fortunately, ink cartridges can and should be recycled.  This would stop the enormous waste of resources and money that are currently being spent.  Refilling and recycling ink cartridges provides a huge commercial as well as environmental benefit.

Any size ink cartridge can be recycled.  While it makes more economic sense to recycle and reuse the larger, more expensive ink or toner cartridges, even smaller less costly ink cartridges can be efficiently refilled and reused. Unfortunately, many small office and home users tend to just dispose of the cartridges in the trash, thus increasing the amount of environmental harm.

 There are many charitable organizations, schools, and churches that could benefit financially from theses discards.  A simple Internet search or a cursory perusal of your local newspaper could provide you with local organizations that can turn these discards into cash. 

If you sponsor or know of an organization that could benefit from a recycling program it is simple to create.  Many recycling companies will happily provide you with the information needed to begin and run a financially feasible recycling program.

There is also the environmental cost to consider.  Millions of used cartridges that could be recycled end up clogging our landfills and costing taxpayers money.  There are some estimates that recycling cartridges rather than manufacturing new ones can reduce environmental waste and pollution by as much as 90% .  It makes good economic and environmental sense to Reuse and Recycle ink cartridges to Reduce the environmental impact!

Only a small percentage of empty cartridges are reused and recycled by the OEM manufacturers.  The majority are dumped in the landfills or disposed in third world countries.

Compatible or remanufactured cartridges are inferior to OEM cartridges

Many third party manufacturers are making compatible and remanufactured cartridges in the market these days.  Some of them may not produce high quality products but many others follow the highest standard (ISO standard) using the same specification of OEM cartridges in their production.  These high quality compatible or remanufactured cartridges perform just as well if not better than the OEM cartridges.