Donate Full, Unused Cartridges

Yes, the service is completely free! Because of that, we do need to check that we can use the particular cartridges you have and that they will at least cover costs & raise funds for the AMF.

We cannot take any generic / ‘compatible’ / off-brand versions not made by the genuine original printer manufacturer as they simply don’t have any secondary market value — we’ll help you find a free alternative recycling option for any of these.

The easiest way is to send us a clear photo of your items — we can check the model numbers, quantities, and verify their condition for you without you having to list them.

We need to check that we can reuse your items and raise funds for the AMF before we collect because we pay for the shipping, staff to process and check consignments, and disposal/recycling fees for any cartridges that can’t be reused.

If you can’t send us photos, or you have a large number, we don’t need exact quantities and every detail, but we will need to know that we can reuse most of what you’re sending us and that any items we definitely can’t use are recycled elsewhere — if you have a list that’s great, and we may have other questions or ask you to check certain details.

We take ink and toner cartridges of all the most popular brands: Hewlett Packard, Brother, Canon, Dell, Epson, Kodak, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Lexmark, Panasonic, Ricoh, Samsung, Xerox & more.

There are thousands of models however, so we need to check your specific models have enough value to cover our costs and raise funds for charity — if not, we’ll help you find a free alternative recycling option for them.

We normally cannot reuse any of the following however:

• ❌ Used / part-used / empty cartridges - see our empty cartridge recycling services
• ❌ Generic / ‘compatible’ / off-brand versions not made by the genuine original printer manufacturer
• ❌ items where *both* the outer box & inner sealed packaging have been opened

Any reusable unused cartridge that we take could be worth anywhere from 0.5 to 100 long-lasting anti-malaria nets in terms of donation for the Against Malaria Foundation — our chosen partner charity that benefits from items you send us. That’s equivalent to about $2USD (or £1.60) per net.

Long-lasting insecticidal sleeping nets are a highly effective way to prevent a disease that kills 400,000 people a year. So next time you upgrade your printer, or are clearing out your office or drawers, think of the benefit that any full and unused printer cartridges could have on lives of people in sub-tropical countries.

We operate across the entire United Kingdom by using nationwide couriers to transport your items. In some cases, if you have a large number of more valuable items and are within 100 miles one of our warehouses we may be able to collect your cartridges loose without having to pack them up into shipping boxes.

If you’re in the 🇺🇸 US or 🇨🇦 Canada, try our partner CartridgeForest instead.

Yes! In almost all cases we can use expired cartridges. The “warranty ends” or “use by” dates are not hard limits on being able to use the cartridges, and they can still be used. We still need to check which model you have as not all have enough value whether they’re expired or not.

Because these cartridges are intended to be used as they are (and not e.g. recycled), they are not considered waste and thus not covered by waste transfer legislation.

You will receive a thank-you certificate at the end listing the number of cartridges reused, and the estimated number of anti-mosquito nets they have resulted in.

It depends on the quantities and the shipping method being used, and will need to be considered on a case by case basis. If including the empties with the unused cartridges does not increase the number of parcels to be shipped, or push the weight or dimensions over the critical limits for the service, we will advise you that you may include them. If not, we will offer you alternative recycling suggestions for these at separate facilities.

Please do not open the cartridges’ boxes or packaging that the cartridges came in — we need to receive the items in their original packaging and as good a condition as possible.

We mostly use nationwide courier networks to ship your items, so you will need to put them (in their original packaging) into a sturdy outer protective shipping box — if you have a large number of items, we may be able to supply these free of charge if you cannot find a suitable box of your own to use.

In some cases, if you’re within 100 miles of one of our warehouses we may be able to collect directly from your site in our own vans.

You are welcome to cover the costs of shipping your full printer cartridges to us — this may be easier and more straightforward for you if you have existing arrangements with a courier — and this will increase the amount that we are able to donate to the AMF from your items.

We will still need to do a quick check to see that we can usefully reuse your items before we allow you to send though, as there are costs in handling and processing, and it actually costs money to dispose of and recycle items that we cannot actually reuse.

If you have some suitably-sized cardboard boxes you can reuse to ship your items out to us, that’s ideal as it means we can pass on more to the AMF, and you’re reusing existing resources. It’s also better for the environment!

If you have a larger number of big unused cartridges to ship, and will definitely not be able to find a suitable box, then we can normally provide sturdy shipping boxes and tape.

Your cartridges are reused as they were originally intended — as full cartridges that we find homes for with somebody who has an appropriate printer.

This reduces the number of printer cartridges that needs to be manufactured, which reduces use of oil to produce plastics, precious metals, and energy used in construction.

Recycling — breaking cartridges down into component materials for use in different products — may be better than sending products to landfill, but is a last resort for items that can’t be reused as it still uses much more energy and oil and other natural resources.

Nothing we or our partners receive is sent to landfill.