The TMA Inkjet Recycling Project: An Easy Way to Help

The Transverse Myelitis Association has partnered with a recycling company to collect and recycle empty inkjet printer cartridges, and empty toner cartridges from laser printers and copiers.  For every empty cartridge that is sent, the TMA will receive $0.35 to $3.00 per inkjet cartridge and $3.00 to $8.00 for every toner cartridge.  All shipping supplies and fees are pre-paid by the recycling company so there is no cost to you or the TMA.

All you have to do is visit our website (www.myelitis.org) and click the link to “recycling inkjets.”  Follow the on-screen instructions to register and order your supplies.  It’s that simple!  Your pre-paid shipping supplies will arrive in a couple weeks, and when they do, be sure to hand them out to friends and family to use when they come across an empty cartridge.  If you don’t have a computer or printer, you probably know someone who does.  Order a roll of baggies and distribute them and encourage others to do the same.  There is no cost to participate, order supplies, or pay for shipping.  Simply put your empty cartridge in the pre-paid package (instead of the trash can) and put it out with the regular mail.  The U.S. Postal Service will take care of the rest.

Don’t hesitate to be creative!  Here are a few examples of how some people have gotten involved:

A member in Ohio ordered a table top baggie dispenser and printed several of the TMA brochures available from our website.  She made a small display in the waiting room of her dentist’s office promoting awareness and support of the TMA.  Another Ohioan posted information around her small town, in the bank, the post office, and local shops, resulting in over 800 empty inkjet printer cartridges being sent it.

A family in New Jersey has been gathering empty toner cartridges and inkjets from the local school district.  There are several buildings in the district and they all use printers and copiers.  They collect the empties every week or so from the schools and send them in.  To date, they have gathered and shipped over 1,000 empties!

A high school student in Pennsylvania made this a personal project for his school.  He gathered information and made a presentation to the school board and now the district is collecting their empties and sending them in on our behalf.  He has since graduated and his younger brother has taken charge of the program. He made a video to promote the inkjet program that appears on our web site!

Several people have taken collection boxes to their work place.  Generally, people are very supportive of the recycling effort and are excited to participate.

This program has incredible potential.  Imagine if only 100 people participate (2 per state in the US) and they each sent in 3 inkjet empties per month.  That is a potential of $1,800 per month. Over a year’s time that amounts to over $21,000!  Now, imagine if 5 people per state participated, or even 10.  It is easy to see that together we can make a huge difference.  If you have any questions or would like to learn more, contact Stephen Miller at (937)453-9832 or smiller[AT SIGN]myelitis.org.