Printers Fall Under Which Waste Category
A discarded printer will be categorized as e-waste.
A printer is an electronic machine therefore it is not surprising that after they are no longer in use they will become electronic waste. It is globally understood that e-wastes cannot be disposed of with other regular garbage because of its hazardous chemicals and heavy metals, but unfortunately it is widely not practiced.
It has been found that 15% of computer users in the US employ recycling methods while the remaining 85% dispose of their broken computers into landfills.
Despite the statistics being in the case of computers, it can still be expected that printers are also treated in the same manner, especially the cartridges, which have to be regularly changed.
How To Recycle Your Hardware
NOTE: If you are unable to drop off your package, please contact FedEx for a home pick up.
Where Can I Recycle My Tvs And Computers
The NTCRS provides around 98 per cent of Australia’s population with reasonable access to collection services for televisions and computer parts. Location and opening times for recycling and collection services are determined by the organisations who manage them, with flexibility provided to suit local circumstances. Services may include a permanent collection site at a local waste transfer station or retail outlet, or one-off recycling events. These may be operated through local council or resource management centres. Services are free for households and small businesses, while charges may apply for larger businesses. Not all drop-off points in Australia are part of the scheme, and fees may be payable at some locations. Contact the providers below or your local council for details.
Planet Ark maintains a database of television and computer drop-off points. Search for recycling near you:
Printers are common computer accessories, and like most accessories will begin to experience performance loss and other problems over time. Whether you replace a printer because a newer model has additional features or because the old printer no longer works, you shouldn’t simply throw the device into the trash once it’s no longer needed. Proper disposal of computer accessories is environmentally friendly, and you may be able to help out a good cause by doing so as well.
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Learning How To Dispose Of A Printer Is A Win
Outdated and out-of-use electronic devices that arent handled properly can range from an inconvenience to a sizable liability. Now that you understand how to dispose of a printer you can put a plan of action in place. Whether you are an individual or a member of an organization, you should maintain a simple plan for handling old printers not only to stay ahead of the curve but to mitigate any potential legal/financial issues from improper e-waste handling.
Some options for printer disposal may not be convenient for your specific needs perhaps your nearest recycling center is just too far away, or your old devices dont fit the donation requirements for your local nonprofit.
Whichever method you choose, our professionals at All Green Recycling can help to point you in the right direction to get your old printers and fax machines out of your hair and give them a renewed purpose.
Want to learn how to properly dispose of batteries or other electronics? Check out our blog!
How Do You Know If Your Printer Is Broken
Print blemishes are often caused by having a defective ink/toner cartridge, but if youve changed the cartridge and youre still not getting good print results, its probably a sign that your printer is failing. Look for lines, bars, and marks that dont improve after changing the cartridge and cleaning the printer.
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Common Printer Problems And How To Fix Them
Printers are the perfect finish for a home office, allowing users the convenience and ease of use without having to travel or pay to print documents or photos. Owning a printer has countless benefits, though, like any other technology, printers have a few minor caveats. However, dont be dismayed because many common printer problems have easy solutions!
- What type of printer should you purchase?
If you are in the market for a printer, then you might be surprised by how many different types of printers there are. Deciding which printer is the right one for you is simple. Are you mostly printing photos and need a good quality printer? You will want an Inkjet printer, which prints slower than other models, but prints high-quality photos. If you print at a high volume and arent printing photos then a LED or laserjet printer is what you want. The LED and laserjet printers dont use ink, like an Inkjet, instead, they use toner which allows users to print high-quality documents quickly. Another thing to consider is whether you need to scan and fax documents in addition to printing. You will want to purchase an All-In-One printer if that is the case. For a more detailed look at what type of printer you should purchase go *here*
- You need a printer but are on a budget
Identifying the problem
- Your computer is giving low toner error, but you just replaced the toner.
- Someone told me to replace the drum or toner, but I didnt have to when I bought it?
- My printer is printing too slow
Take It To A Recycler
Plenty of nonprofit organizations and local communities offer options to help you recycle old electronics. One group, Call2Recycle, offers drop-off locations for rechargeable batteries and cell phones all over the U.S. To find a location, just enter your ZIP code at .
Access may be limited due to concerns about COVID-19, so before leaving home, be sure to contact the drop-off location to confirm it’s open and accepting recyclables.
You can also look for local options by entering your ZIP code and the product you want to recycle at the Computer Technology Associations Recycle Locator or Earth911s extensive recycling database. Earth911 offers assistance by phone at 800-CLEANUP, too.
For more options, or to learn how e-waste gets recycled, consult Sustainable Electronics Recycling International, which lists facilities certified for electronic recycling.
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How Do I Fix Hp Printer Errors
Quick fix
State Of Hawaii Electronic Device Recycling Program
The State of Hawaii Legislature enacted Act 13 Relating to Electronic Device Recycling during the First Special Session of 2008, this law mandates Manufacturers are responsible to establish, conduct and manage take-back recycling programs for Covered Electronic Devices . CEDs include computers , computer monitors and computer printers these devices are eligible for take-back options as of January 1, 2010. Televisions have been covered since January 1, 2011.
The State of Hawaii Department of Health is charged with implementing this program, for more information on the Hawaii Electronic Device Recycling Program please visit their website. On the HEDRP website is a list of Manufacturers registered and covered under this program and information on how to return your CED to the Manufacturer for proper recycling.
A few sites are accepting drop-offs of Covered Electronic Devices for recycling at no charge, check with your specific Manufacturers program. Most manufacturers have implemented mail-back plans for the Big Island. Many mail-back plans are free while some small fees for shipping may apply to others. Retailers are prohibited from selling non-registered products in Hawaii and they must make information available to customers on where CEDs purchased can be returned for recycling. This take-back program also applies to all previously purchased CEDs from the registered Manufacturers.
Manufacturers& Retailers Programs
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Where To Recycle Printers Youre Replacing
Use our recycling locator to find your nearest reuse and recycling point.
Or, if youre going shopping, bear in mind that retailers now take back old electricals when youre buying new. And some larger stores will recycle your old tech even if youre not buying.
In other words, its getting easier all the time to recycle printers and other electricals.
Take It To A Tech Firm
Many electronics manufacturers and retailers offer robust recycling programs. A chart at the Environmental Protection Agencys website lets you search programs by product or company. The following are just a few of the many programs that allow consumers to recycle old electronics. Check your brands or retailers company website for details on its program.
- offers gift cards for just about any kind of electronics device, as well as music CDs and video games. Some items may be eligible for limited time, promotional credit toward a new qualifying Amazon device.
- Apple’s GiveBack program offers up to $1,530 in gift cards or in-store credit for qualifying products. The company will also accept and recycle any product that doesn’t qualify.
- Best Buy offers recycling options for a wide range of electronics, no matter where you bought them.
- Office Depot and Staples offer rewards program members store credit of $2 per printer cartridge for up to 10 or 20 cartridges per month, respectively. Most printer manufacturers, including HP, Epson, and Canon, also have their own recycling programs.
- Sprints Buyback program offers account credits for mobile phones from any carrier. For specific details on other phone programs, check the manufacturer’s website.
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The Screen Interface Wont Turn Up
Here, by default, the first step would be checking if the 3D printer is plugged in and powered on. You can follow the same steps above to make sure the power is running through the cables of your 3D printer. If that seems okay, you need to check a few other things.
Look for the connectors and wires connecting the screen to the 3D Printer. Turn of your 3D Printer, make the connections secure and firm.
Turn on the printer and check for the screen, if it turns on or not. The next thing would be to check the power signal reaching your control board.
You can use Multimeters and Oscilloscopes to verify the same. However, you must be cautious when using these tools. If this also does not signal anything, you may have to replace the control board of the screen interface connected to the 3D printer.
How To Prepare A Printer For Safe Disposal
Printers are common computer accessories, and like most accessories will begin to experience performance loss and other problems over time. Whether you replace a printer because a newer model has additional features or because the old printer no longer works, you shouldn’t simply throw the device into the trash once it’s no longer needed. Proper disposal of computer accessories is environmentally friendly, and you may be able to help out a good cause by doing so as well.
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Computers Electronics & Printer Cartridges
Although these products may not be dangerous to use, most of them contain poisonous heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium that can pollute groundwater near landfills. Up to 80% of electronics can be recycled, so lets not take risks with the quality of human health or our environment, and recycle all our electronics. For more information about consumer electronics, visit the Consumer Technology Association website.
To learn more about how to extend the life of your personal computer, read the article, Six Ways to Extend the Life of Your Old PCs.
Salvaging Materials From A Broken Printer
Our guest blogger, Stephen Bell is a volunteer at Fab Lab London. Here he describes his experience of hacking a broken printer in the workshop, in order to find out what materials were present and what he could salvage.
Im relatively new to hacking or so I thought until I cast my mind back to what I used to do as a kid. Whenever I would get a toy I would always dismantle it to see how it worked. Looks like Ive still got the bug! The purpose of this exercise was to have a bit of fun dismantling a printer without breaking the components, with the aim of salvaging some of them for use in other projects. A lot of the fun is in dismantling without damaging the parts
It took me 75 minutes altogether to take the printer apart with a Torx screwdriver set and some mole grips. During the teardown, I took some safety precautions by donning a pair of safety goggles. You never know where fragments can fly so its always better to be safe than sorry.
The main components I salvaged from the tear down were two motors, these were a C904560001 and a C9000 60005. A quick Google search on these two part numbers brought up a lot of information. It turns out that refurbished motors are worth about £20.
However the overwhelming majority of the printer was made out of a plastic called ABS, as is the case in a large proportion of consumer electronics. The question I wanted to know is can this material be recycled for use as ABS filament which is currently used in 3D printing?
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How To Securely Dispose Of A Printer
We all know it’s important to wipe our personal data before selling or discarding a computer. Do we have to worry about privacy when disposing of a printer?
The other day a reader asked me something I couldn’t immediately answer. “I know that, when you toss a dead computer, you’re supposed to make the person information that resides on hard drive inaccessible to the outside world,” he said. “I was wondering if this same issue arises when you toss a dead printer?”
We’ve known for years that some expensive, high-end printers and digital copiers may retain digital copies of documents. One researchers warned that the same might happen with personal printers, though he didn’t identify specific models. To get a handle on this question, I turned to M. David Stone, PCMag’s Lead Analyst for printers and scanners.
What Kind of Data? “First, you need to make a distinction between types of data,” said Stone. “The important stuff for most people would be what you print, fax, or copy. Call that real data. The less important info would be stored email addresses and fax numbers. Call that contact information.”
“The only time any information stored on the printer can be an issue is if the printer has either an internal disk or non-volatile memory,” he continued. “I also doubt there are any with non-volatile memory for real data, but I can’t swear to it. There are some that can hold contact info in non-volatile memory.”
Image courtesy of Flickr user Iain Farrell
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What To Do With A Lot Of Broken Printers
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As Veho said they are a source of nice parts, though in addition to electronics and motors you can also get some nice rod stock and some other choice mechanical things.I tend to find it is not worth fixing inkjets unless you have or can easily locate a source of cheap ink, or if they can otherwise do something special like A3 printing, a special type of scanning or are the only things that finance can print payslips on. Lasers I will often make the effort for and other things are on a case by case basis.
I’d probably scrap motors and whatnot out of them, I could make a lot of use out of them. If you’re really enterprising, see if you can scrap the shells of the machines and you can craft them together with a little bit of heat and make yourself some custom shells for mini computers . Heck, if any of them have an LCD, you can salvage it and make use of the displays if they’re in decent working condition.See if you can get some buttons or dials too, those don’t come cheap. Speakers and buzzers too!
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Bottom Line: Always Avoid The Trash Heap
I won’t go into detail here, but remember that, other than the buyback programs noted above, you have plenty of options for selling your used printer if it’s still in decent condition. This is especially true of well-built, higher-end business-oriented printers and AIOs, as well as professional photo printers. Beyond the buyback programs mentioned here, the web is loaded with sites for selling your used tech, with the most common and recognizable being Amazon, Craigslist, and eBay.
But if your printer has hit the end of its life, or you’re looking to do something altruistic, donating or recycling are easy options. Legislation has been enacted in 25 states establishing electronic-waste recycling programs, and many printer manufacturers and sellers have gone to great lengths to be responsible about disposing of their customers’ second-hand wares. The good news is that it’s relatively easy to find a way to keep these machines and the material from which they’re constructed from doing more damage to the environment than necessary. Whether donating, recycling, or selling it for cash, there is no shortage of ways to keep your printer out of the dumpster. Do the right thing when the inevitable end of its service life comes.
Once your printer is recycled and you’re ready for a new one, you’ll want to check out our roundup of the best printers you can buy right now, as well as our deep dive into how to save money with low-cost printer ink programs.
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