Sam’s Club and EnviroSmart, an inkjet and laser toner cartridge recycler based in Franklin, Tenn., have partnered to make recycling easier and more cost effective for consumers.
As of October, customers can able to drop off their used inkjet and laser toner cartridges, as well as their old cell phones and batteries, at convenient kiosks inside select Sam’s Club locations. The store’s kiosks also will offer postage-paid envelopes, so customers can mail in their empty inkjet cartridges from home for free. Eleven Sam’s Club locations in Alabama, Arkansas, California and Missouri are participating in the program. Similar programs are already in place at participating stores in Michigan and the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston metropolitan areas.
EnviroSmart sends the cell phones and batteries collected to Michigan-based ReCellular, a leading refurbisher and recycler of cell phones, PDA’s and other handheld technology.
EnviroSmart recycles the printer cartridges, diverting them from landfills.
“Every year, hundreds of millions of empty printer cartridges are tossed in the trash when they could easily be recycled, remanufactured and reused,” EnviroSmart President George Skivington says. “Customers can now recycle their empty cartridges when they shop for office supplies at Sam’s Club. It’s a simple, convenient solution that’s easy for consumers and helps protect the environment.”
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1.5 pints of crude oil is needed to make one inkjet cartridge. According to estimates, it takes 1,000 years for an inkjet cartridge to break down in a landfill.
Sam’s Club locations in the following cities will have recycling kiosks available:
· Tuscaloosa, Ala.
· Springdale, Ark.
· Bakersfield, Calif.
· Glendora, Calif.
· Long Beach, Calif.
· Murrieta, Calif.
· Roseville, Calif.
· Sacramento, Calif.
· Torrance, Calif.
· Joplin, Mo.
More information about EnviroSmart and toner cartridge recycling is available online at www.envirosmart.com.