Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle with Cartridge World

The three R’s of sustainability (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) are the foundation of Alan Horvath’s business. As the owner of Hilliard’s Cartridge World, Alan began collecting used printer and toner cartridges and refilling them in 2007.

Since then, the store on Hilliard-Rome Road is the busiest store of its kind in the Columbus area, helping to make curb the number of cartridges that are thrown away every second in the U.S.—which is estimated at 8.

“We’ve been really well supported by business and groups here (in Hilliard),” said Horvath, who has paired with churches, schools, scouts and other local organizations to collect cartridges that can be reused.

Recycling used cartridges and purchasing refilled ones seems like a no-brainer once Horvath explains how the process works.

“At first, a lot of people are intimidated by the idea of buying a used cartridge, but once they do they realize that you can’t even tell the difference,” he said.

It takes 24 hours to clean and refill a used cartridge. Once the old ink is spun out, the inside is purified and dehydrated. Alan and his associates use a syringe to inject the cartridge with new ink and it’s tested for quality before it’s sold.

The only difference is that a cartridge that’s replaced with a new one typically gets thrown into the trash where it will stay for about 450 years before it begins to decompose. The practice of throwing away cartridges is so common in North America that the Environmental Protection Agency has estimated as many as 350 million are dumped into landfills each year.

Not only is it better for the environment, but purchasing recycled cartridges can be easier on your wallet. Cartridge World’s inventory ranges from $4.99 to $19.99, which is often less than half the price of ink cartridges that are sold brand new for personal printers. The store can also customize cartridges to fit almost any printer so customers don’t get stuck buying a new device once the ink cartridge becomes obsolete.