Printers are upgraded more often nowadays to keep up with new models, but what should you do with your old machine once you’re finished with it?
Used printers, like most electronic and electrical devices, can be recycled today despite many old machines still ending up in land fill.
With Victoria’s e-waste ban coming into effect from 1 July 2019, printers should not be discarded in general waste bins.
Australia faces a serious e-waste challenge, and is one of the top five biggest producers per capita globally.
Australians have been generating e-waste three times faster than all other forms of waste, according to researchers at the University of New South Wales.
Fortunately, there are services and schemes that recycle printers and other e-waste available, making it easy to pitch in and help improve our recycling record.
Benefits of recycling printers
Whether it’s outdated or has reached the end of its life, recycling your used printer can help protect the environment and recover non-renewable resources.
Recycling old printers and cartridges can keep harmful chemicals and materials like mercury out of landfill, where it can contaminate the ground and leak into waterways.
Additionally, there are plenty of non-renewable materials such as steel, aluminium, copper and gold that can be recovered from electronic devices that have reached the end of their useful life.
Recovering materials from old devices and reusing them in new products reduces the need the further mine minerals out of the ground and process them.
Recycling metals and other resources also uses less energy than mining and processing original materials.
Where can you recycle printers?
Households and small businesses with only a few devices can access the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme and drop off old machines at designated collection points at no cost.
Most councils have collection points at their local waste transfer stations for non-commercial quantities of e-waste. You can find your closest collection point at TechCollect or RecyclingNearYou.
Officeworks accepts printers and other e-waste for recycling however, they do limit the number of items per customer so it’s best to check with your local store first.
Larger businesses and organisations can access tailored and cost-effective e-waste recycling services, which includes printers, through Ecocycle.
A recycling program will also protect your business from costly fines, as Victoria’s ban on disposing of e-waste into landfill comes into effect this year and other states are looking to follow.
Ecocycle is one of Australia’s most experienced e-waste recyclers and helps thousands of businesses across the country keep used electronic devices out of landfill.
Call us on 1300 32 62 92 or fill in the form below, and let us take care of your old printers and other e-waste.
