How to Recycle Your Old Printers

Key Questions:

• What are the best practices for recycling old printers?
• Why is it important to use certified electronics recyclers?
• How can ManagedPrint assist in setting up an effective printer recycling program?

Do you have an old printer or a closet full of old printers that need to be removed? Some customers have hundreds of printers that need to be recycled, and it can become pretty daunting.

We have helped companies manage their printers for years. Part of print management involves life cycle management of old printers.

In this article, we will cover some important considerations when you are ready to recycle your printers.

Electronics Recycling Is Not Trash

The first thing to know is your old printers or copiers are not trash. They are electronic office equipment with heavy metals and need to be properly recycled through a certified electronics recycler.

These devices contain heavy metals, and if you simply toss the printer in the trash and it goes to the landfill, these metals can seep into the water supply and harm the community.

When dealing with electronic waste, the goal is to recycle as much of the device as possible. The same goes for ink cartridges; recycling is a much better option than simply tossing them into the trash.

Problem with Some Recycling

When you send your printer to a standard recycler who does not specialize in electronic recycling, these products may end up on a barge and sent overseas for small children to sort through, resulting in birth defects, bad water, and burning trash.

How About Staples, Office Depot, or Best Buy Programs?

We don’t know for sure what each of these companies does or who they recycle with, but our general suggestion is to find a recycling partner who is a certified electronics recycler, rather than a generic recycling company.

Protect Your Data

Another benefit of certified electronics recyclers is that they know how to destroy and dispose of hard drives. You wouldn’t want your printer to be stuck in a shipping container with a hard drive containing patient or client records.

By using an appropriate electronics recycler, you can request Department of Defense (DOD)-level hard drive disposal or reformatting to ensure your data has been removed. It is best to have the old printers reset to factory default, where the overwrite on the hard drive is up to the security level of the Department of Defense.

Why Are We So Focused on Electronic Waste?

We are very focused on correctly recycling electronics waste because this is a huge issue that many companies do not take seriously enough. We’re sharing this link to BAN.org electronic stewardship to help readers better understand the issues that are still out there.

ManagedPrint’s Recycling Programs

We offer programs to help our clients not just with the repair and supplies of their printers and toner, but also with setting up a recycling program your company can be proud of. If you need help putting together a plan to deal with the disposal of your laser printers, we would love to assist.

We can help you set a collection schedule, provide recycling bins, or even arrange curbside recycling. Ultimately, it would be a solution we would help you accomplish cooperatively.

Conclusion: Proper Printer Recycling with ManagedPrint

If you have a bunch of printers you need recycled, please give us a call, and we can help you get on the right track with your printer recycling. There is no need to keep all your printers in closets when they can be safely and responsibly recycled.

Ready to recycle your old printers responsibly? Contact ManagedPrint today to set up an effective recycling program and ensure your printers are disposed of correctly.