How to Recycle or Donate Your Old Printer

Whether your printer is a lightweight budget inkjet or a bulky workhorse laser, a single-function printer, or a versatile all-in-one (AIO), the time will come when you’ll need to find a responsible way to dispose of it. Maybe it broke down for good; maybe you’ve simply replaced it with a better model. It’s also possible you just don’t print anything anymore, and it’s time to free up some room in your home office for something you actually need.

Whatever the reason you have for getting rid of your printer, it’s better for the planet to do so responsibly. That means making sure it gets refurbished and put back into service or getting its materials into the right recycling streams. Unfortunately, not all e-waste services and donation programs take printers. Here’s how to make your old unit gets recycled or re-used.

How to Recycle Your Printer

The most obvious way to get rid of a defunct printer is to throw it in the trunk of your car and drive it to the local recycle center. This usually ensures that it gets dismantled and all the materials—plastics, metals, circuit boards—are separated and recycled properly, or broken down and put back into service responsibly. However, sometimes those recycling days are few and far between, at a far-flung locale, or happening at an inconvenient time, so here are some resources that can help you find an in-store or remote recycling option.

Best Buy

(Credit: Best Buy/PCMag)

Best Buy recycles e-waste of all kinds, including printers, ink cartridges, and toner cartridges. Find a nearby location, drop off the item, and be on your way. However, the chain’s printer recycling service also offers a trade-in discount, making it a bit more enticing. If you want to upgrade, Best Buy will give up to $30 toward a new HP printer and up to $75 toward a new Epson printer. Can’t make it to the store? Buy recycling boxes to ship the printer through UPS.

e-Stewards

(Credit: PCMag / e-Stewards)

E-Stewards is a national foundation made up of certified electronics, recycling, and refurbishing companies around the globe. While e-Stewards is huge and has much influence in the recycling and refurbishing industries, it also provides a website where you can search recycling, refurbishing, and consumer drop-off locations in your area.

Earth911

(Credit: PCMag / Earth911)

Earth911 is a nationwide clearinghouse for recycling programs. Search for what you’re looking to recycle—in this case, “printers”—and enter a ZIP code. The site surfaces nearby locations that can take the item in question, including big box stores, charities, private business, and even municipal options for local communities. Searching for recycling locations in the area of Beacon, New York, for instance, showed me that the city has its own drop-off location for residents.

Office Depot/OfficeMax

Looking to upgrade? You can bring in an old printer to any Office Depot or OfficeMax location and save up to $30 on select HP printers. The company also lets you bring in used ink and toner cartridges for recycling and will give you $2 back per cartridge when you make a qualifying purchase of $10 or more in the same month.

Staples

Staples recycles printers and other hardware—no matter where you bought the item—for free. You can drop off the machine, toner cartridges, and drum units at your local Staples store and even earn points toward purchases as a Staples Easy Rewards program member. Can’t make it into the store? Go online and purchase a recycle kit that you can use to ship the printer to its destination.

Furthermore, Staples is an e-Stewards Enterprise, meaning that the company has committed to using e-Stewards-certified recyclers to handle the equipment it collects, thereby assuring that your old printer gets moved on to the next phase in its e-waste journey responsibly.

How to Donate Your Printer

If the printer still works and you want someone else to get some use out of it, there are ways to donate it to a good cause or sell the unit and donate the proceeds. A quick web search will bring up local and national organizations that can help.

Dell Reconnect

In 2004, Goodwill joined forces with Dell to recycle or refurbish most types of office and IT equipment, including printers. To participate, head to the Dell Reconnect website, find a participating Goodwill store or drop-off location in your area, and leave your used printer with them. Goodwill staff will then assess whether the item can be refurbished and resold or must be recycled.

Digitunity

(Credit: PCMag / Digitunity)

Digitunity doesn’t physically receive, service, or place donated equipment. Instead, this site facilitates the connection between a donor contributing equipment and a pre-screened recipient organization. All you have to do is enter a ZIP code and radius, then find an organization in your area that is looking for a printer. For instance, when I searched a 15-mile radius in Long Island, I found four possible recipients for used printers.

One of those options, the Huntington Youth Bureau, was looking for a printer. You can unfurl items in the list to see what condition they will accept and how far they are willing to travel. If it’s a match, click Donate Now, fill out your information, and you will be connected with the organization so you can hand off your donation.

eBay For Charity

If you don’t mind doing the legwork to offload your printer for a good cause, eBay for Charity will help you sell it and donate a set percentage of the proceeds toward a charity of your choice.

Recycling Options From the Manufacturer

Most of the major printer manufacturers offer their customers recycle or buy-back programs. Each one is different, and depending on the product, they’re not always free. Here’s a breakdown:

Brother

(Credit: Brother/PCMag)

Brother, a longtime favorite printer brand among PCMag readers, offers state-by-state recycling options through partner programs and organizations. However, you can mail the device to Brother if you lack nearby recycling options. Separately, the company also has a mail-in program that accepts ink, toner, drum, and P-touch cartridges for recyling.

Canon

Canon used to have a buyback program, but now only offers recycling options for ink cartridges, toner cartridges, and toner containers. Make sure Canon accepts your brand, then send the consumables to the noted address. Your cartridges can also be dropped off at FedEx Office locations for free.

Epson

This program is just for recycling, but it’s easy. Print a prepaid label, pack up your printer, and drop it off at a FedEx location. Epson will take care of the recycling. You can also mail your ink cartridges directly to Epson.

HP

(Credit: PCMag / HP)

Aside from its in-store partnerships, HP also offers several ways to recycle various printer consumables. Anyone can mail in or request a pickup for their used ink cartridges, printheads, toner cartridges, and reload kits for recycling. Businesses can also request free recycling pickup for their printers.

Lexmark

The Lexmark Equipment and Collection Program offers free mail-in recycling options on a state-by-state basis. You can also send the company the packaging that came with your new printer. The Lexmark Cartridge Collection Program allows customers to return their used toner cartridges for reuse and recycling. Those cartridges that are reused can be purchased at a discount through the Lexmark Return Program.

Samsung

Have an old Samsung printer you no longer need? The company’s recycling partner OEMTakeBack.com allows you to print a label and send the device out for recycling. Keep in mind that the program differs based on your state, so some residents may not be able to use this method.

Xerox

Xerox’s recycling options differ based on your state’s e-waste management requirements. Residents in some states can mail their printers directly to Xerox to be refurbished or recycled, but you’ll need to pay for shipping. The company also partners with the Green World Alliance to recycle printer consumables via a mail-in program.

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