Printer toner cartridges are one of the most used consumables for businesses and create significant waste if they are just thrown away – but there are increasing numbers of recycling programmes available and resellers should get involved to help customers towards their ESG goals.
Toner cartridges are a traditional big selling consumable for print resellers, but when the cartridges are empty, they can create waste if they are not dealt with properly. But with sustainability increasingly on the agenda for businesses large and small, recycling them is becoming a priority as a way of progressing towards ESG goals.
Indeed, Ben Mills, environment manager at Konica Minolta Business Solutions (UK) Ltd, says that customers are increasingly demanding toner cartridge recycling solutions as part of managed print services (MPS) packages.
“Sustainability has become a core requirement rather than a value-add,” he says. “At Konica Minolta, we’ve seen increased engagement with our World on Loan consumable recycling programme as customers look for simple, recycling that supports their environmental commitments without creating additional administrative burden.”
Cinzia Gandini, general manager, EMEA at Katun, agrees that sustainability and recycling have become core considerations for customers rather than optional extras. “Many organisations now expect practical recycling solutions to be built into managed print services, driven by their own ESG commitments as well as evolving environmental regulations,” she says. “Our Katun Collects programme makes it easy for customers across Europe to return used toner cartridges, components and core parts, supporting a more circular approach to print.”
Maxime Furkel, senior director, head of government affairs, EMEA & Asia Pacific, Xerox, adds that customers increasingly expect toner cartridge take-back, remanufacturing and recycling programmes to be integrated into managed print services. “At Xerox, we prioritise remanufacturing over recycling where possible, giving most of our cartridges up to 10 new lives versus an industry standard of two to three times,” he says. “This helps us save raw material. Recycling is only used when remanufacturing is no longer feasible.”
Demand for toner cartridge recycling is growing particularly in certain sectors, according to Peter Cowan, group chief operations officer at Data Direct. “This includes the public sector, schools and other organisations that are focused on their environmental responsibilities,” he says.
Appreciable difference
For businesses looking at ways to progress towards their ESG goals, printer toner cartridge recycling can make an appreciable difference.
“Toner recycling is a practical way for organisations to demonstrate measurable progress towards ESG and circular economy objectives,” says Ben. “Recovering valuable materials, diverting waste from landfill and reducing the demand for virgin resources all contribute to more sustainable operations. Our World on Loan consumable recycling programme provides recycling certificates and waste transfer documentation, giving customers the evidence they need to demonstrate environmental performance and compliance.”
Cinzia agrees that it can have a significant impact, especially when part of a wider sustainability strategy. “Toner cartridge recycling is a simple, practical step that helps reduce waste and keep valuable materials in use for longer,” she adds. “When organisations also choose remanufactured or refilled cartridges, they’re extending the life of existing products and reducing the need for new raw materials. On its own, it won’t achieve all a company’s ESG goals, but as part of a broader approach, it’s a tangible action that can have a real and measurable impact.”
Maxime says that toner cartridge remanufacturing can contribute to a company’s ESG goals by helping reduce waste, conserve raw materials and support circular economy objectives. “Programmes that prioritise remanufacturing over recycling and disposal can help extend the useful life of cartridge components and reduce the need for new materials,” he adds. “Together with features such as high yield toner cartridges and long-life imaging systems, these efforts, can help reduce replacement frequency. Our remanufacturing is backed by global collection programmes with a stated goal of 100% landfill avoidance.”
Peter notes that the environmental difference depends on print volumes. “But with toner cartridges you have to consider their contamination of other waste,” he says. “Having a specialist collection and recovery solution is vital, not only to recycle these items, but to prevent contamination of other waste that could otherwise be recycled.
“Having a UK-based partner that provides material recovery as well as reuse solutions is also an advantage, as the products that cannot be reused can be broken down into reusable raw materials in a local circular economy – this is all part of the Data Direct Simply Recycling programme.”
Getting involved
With demand for toner cartridge recycling growing, this is something resellers and MPS providers should look to get involved with.
Maxime says resellers and MPS providers can integrate cartridge collection, remanufacturing and recycling programmes into their service offerings. “These programmes can help customers reduce waste associated with used cartridges, support ESG objectives and provide data for sustainability reporting,” he adds.
“A key opportunity is to promote circular approaches that prioritise reuse and remanufacturing before recycling. With sustainability analytics and reporting tools, partners can also help customers track and report selected print-related sustainability metrics.”
Ben adds the key is to make participation as easy as possible. “Integrating recycling into the managed print service, providing collection boxes and simple online collection requests removes barriers for customers and encourages higher participation,” he explains.
“Partnering with specialist recycling providers ensures consumables are processed responsibly, with materials recovered for reuse rather than sent to landfill. With some resellers/MPS providers having multiple OEM partnerships, offering a recycling scheme that enables the customer to return multiple brands using just one service, makes recycling for the customer much easier and more convenient.”
Peter notes that at Data Direct, partners have an easy-to-use online recycling portal, www.simply-recycle.co.uk, where they can order recycling boxes and request collections for customers. “Our recycling partner gives an excellent service to customers with everything taken care of on the partner’s behalf, including the legally required Waste Transfer Note documents and the additional Certificates of Recycling,” he adds.
“Recycling boxes can hold 20-30 products and are conveniently supplied with seal tape and a bag to line the box and prevent leaks.
“We accept all products, not just printer cartridges but all printer consumables including drum units, fuser units, maintenance kits and waste toner containers.”
Cinzia agrees that making collection simple is important. “As is educating customers on the benefits of responsible returns,” she says. “Resellers can help customers participate in the circular economy while adding value beyond traditional print management.
Reseller conversations
For resellers there are certain topics they should be mindful of when discussing it with customers.
For instance, balancing sustainability with performance and value is crucial, Cinzia says. “Today’s remanufactured and refillable or refilled imaging supplies deliver the quality customers expect while helping reduce waste and lower environmental impact,” she says. “Katun has been innovating in this space for many years, pioneering the refilled OEM cartridge concept in 2008 and with our ecoKap™ toner cartridges, and continuing to expand sustainable product and service options that enable customers to make more environmentally responsible purchasing decisions.”
Ben notes that customers want more than a collection service. “They should understand what happens to returned consumables, how much waste is diverted from landfill, and how the programme supports circular economy principles,” he adds. “Transparency, traceability and measurable environmental outcomes are just as important as convenience. Demonstrating a zero-landfill approach and providing clear reporting gives customers confidence that their recycling delivers genuine environmental value.”
Maxime says the key message is closing the loop through collection, remanufacturing, and recycling – helping reduce waste associated with used cartridges and conserve resources. “The Xerox collection programme is designed to make participation easier for customers and partners alike, while supporting more measurable sustainability actions,” he adds.
Peter notes that, ultimately, it is the end user’s legal responsibility to ensure they deal with their own waste properly. “Since March 2025 it is UK law that all organisations over 10 people must separate their waste to recycle where possible and use licensed waste collectors and processing facilities,” he adds. “Food, card, paper, plastics must all be separated and recycled, and printer consumables are no different. They will contaminate other waste, so should be kept separate and collected by an authorised service provider.”
Increasing demand and innovation
With sustainability set to continue to be a priority for businesses in the future, demand for toner cartridge recycling schemes is expected to grow further and this will lead to more innovation in this sector too.
“As sustainability reporting and legislation across Europe becomes more rigorous, businesses will increasingly expect recycling programmes to provide greater transparency, data, insights and a seamless, integrated experience,” says Ben. “We expect greater innovation in closed-loop recycling, enabling more materials to be recovered as secondary raw materials and kept in circulation for longer. Toner recycling is evolving from a waste management activity into an integral part of sustainable resource management, becoming circular by increasing the recycled content of the consumable products.”
Maxime agrees that demand is being driven by increasingly stringent regulations around circularity, waste reduction, ecodesign and producer responsibility, as well as rising customer expectations for measurable ESG outcomes. “Innovation is expected to continue through advances in AI, IoT and analytics, helping make collection, remanufacturing and lifecycle management increasingly efficient and scalable,” he says. “The latter is already being employed by Xerox, which, as the only printer OEM partner in two EU-funded circularity projects – CE-RISE and DiCiM – contributes to the development of future circular models for the IT industry and beyond.”
Sustainability expectations will continue to shape purchasing decisions, making recycling and refillable/remanufactured products an increasingly important part of ESG strategies, says Cinzia. “Innovation will focus on further improving circularity, resource efficiency, and carbon reduction,” she adds. “The environmental benefits are already clear. An independent 2022 lifecycle assessment commissioned by Katun found that producing a refilled OEM A3 toner cartridge has 84% lower environmental impact than manufacturing a new-build cartridge, demonstrating the significant role these solutions can play in helping organisations meet their sustainability goals.”
Peter adds that in the UK, there are limited waste options and exporting is only getting more expensive. “Having on-shore recycling solutions is the solution for now and the future,” he says.
“The industry needs more support by way of awareness and encouraging end users to take responsibility for their waste and use the legitimate solutions available. “We need the regulatory bodies to support the companies doing things properly, we need tighter regulation and harsher penalties on the waste companies that are breaking the rules. As we see more social engagement with recycling particularly from the younger generations, we can only expect the demand for recycling solutions such as ours to grow.”
