The following information can be a valuable resource for school teachers, students, or anyone else interested in environmental issues. This information comes from recycling statistics and surveys of the printer cartridge recycling, cell phone recycling and corporate recycling industries.
PRINTER CARTRIDGE RECYCLING
* In 2005, over 700 million new printer cartridges were sold in the USA. (650 million ink jet cartridges and 70 million toner cartridges)
* In 2005, over 60 million new printer cartridges were sold in Canada. (59 million ink jet cartridges and 7 million toner cartridges)
* In 2005, over 500 million new printer cartridges were sold in Europe. (525 million ink jet cartridges and 49 million toner cartridges)
* In 2005, over 100 million recycled printer cartridges were sold worldwide. (62 million ink jet cartridges and 42 million toner cartridges)
* 2 1/2 ounces of oil are used for each new inkjet cartridge.
* 3 1/2 quarts of oil are used for each new toner cartridge.
* Every toner printer cartridge on average, is made up of about 2 1/2 pounds of plastic, along with rubber, aluminum, and steel.
* About 3 1/2 quarts of petroleum are required to power the manufacturing process that converts oil and natural gas to plastic , to produce a single printer cartridge.
* Every printer cartridge contains petroleum as "embedded energy". It take the energy equivalent of about 1/2 gallon of oil to produce a 2 1/2 pound laser cartridge.
* Each new toner cartridge uses about 3 quarts of oil to produce, and adds 2 1/2 pounds of plastic to the environment.
* By some estimates, about eight inkjet and toner cartridges are thrown in the trash in the United States every second.
* Printer cartridge recycling industry analysts estimate that used inkjet and toner cartridges can be recycled and reused between 4 and 7 times.
* According to industry statistics, over 86% of inkjet cartridges consumed in the United States are not recycled, they're thrown in the trash. Toner cartridge recycling is a very large industry in the USA. It employs thousands of people yet over 1/2 of the used toner cartridges are still discarded every year. That translates to 350 million printer cartridges that end up in landfills or incinerators or about 875 million pounds of e-waste. Stacked end to end, these discarded printer cartridges would cover a distance of about 24,000 miles; enough distance to circle the earth.
* For every toner printer cartridge we recycle, we save at least 1/2 gallon of oil. With America consuming about 700 million gallons of oil per day, recycling printer cartridges is helping to save our natural resources, and curb additional greenhouse emissions.
* It is estimated that in the next seven years, if we recycle every inkjet and toner cartridge, a bridge can be built from the Earth to the Moon; that's a distance of 223,000 miles.
CELL PHONE RECYCLING
* Cell phone usage in the United States has surged from 340,000 subscribers in 1985 to about 170 million in 2004.
* On average, each American owns 3 or more cellular phones.
* The average life span of a cellular phone is 18 months.
* Industry experts estimate that 130 million cell phones will be obsolete and thrown away every year.
* It is estimated that up to 3/4 of all obsolete cell phones are stored away in drawers by people who don't know what else to do with them.
* In 2005, 500 million used cell phones were stockpiled in homes across America.
* Cellular phones contain toxic materials such as arsenic, lead, mercury, zinc, copper, and brominated flame retardants which can be released into the air if incinerated, and groundwater if disposed of in landfills. This creates threats to humans, animals, and the environment.
* Over 70 percent of all Americans do not know that they can recycle their old cell phone.
* In a recent survey, only 2.3% of Americans recycled their used cell phones and 7 percent threw them away. Surveys also suggest that 90% of Americans would recycle cell phones if it were convenient.
CORPORATE RECYCLING
* Company employees whose work place have cause-related programs such as recycling, are 38% more likely to be proud of their company's values than those whose work place do not have such programs.
* By empowering employees with ways of impacting social issues such as volunteerism opportunities, companies can provide employees with a sense of purposeful work. This also can strengthen the company's organization.
