Refurbishing and
Purchasing Refurbished Printer Toner Cartridges
The Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) LeFrak City
offices initiated a program to collect and return printer toner
cartridges to the manufacturers for refurbishing or recycling. In
addition, DEP is attempting to purchase refurbished toner cartridges
through its purchasing agents.
To date, no actual figures of spent cartridges collected or new
cartridges purchased have been compiled. However, DEP was able to
provide a partial count of the number and type of printers in operation
at the LeFrak City location. Based on these figures, and several
stated assumptions, the figures below were calculated to illustrate
the potential waste reduction and cost savings that could be realized
at DEP if toner cartridges were returned for recycling/refurbishing
instead of disposed, and if DEP purchased refurbished cartridges.
Waste Prevented: DEP estimates that its LeFrak City
operations have approximately 800 to 1400 printers. DEP provided
data for an estimated one-quarter, or 234, of these printers; therefore,
the total number of printers, for these calculations, is estimated
to be 936 printers. Assuming that one cartridge is replaced each
quarter, DEP generates four spent cartridges/printer/year. For the
936 printers, DEP replaces 3,744 cartridges annually. If each cartridge
weighs 3 lbs., then 11,232 lbs., or 5.6 tons, of waste per year
is diverted from disposal.
Cost Savings: Based on the FY98 waste export fee of
$100/ton, cost savings for DOS would be $560/year. Depending on
the brand and model of printer, there are significant differences
in the purchase price for new and refurbished toner cartridges.
Below are several examples of prices provided by DCAS and other
vendors. Based on these estimates, assume an average price difference
of $66. DEP would save $247,104/year in reduced purchasing costs
by purchasing refurbished cartridges.
Cartridge Type
|
Price for Refurbished
|
Price for New
|
Hewlett Packard
|
$67
|
$82.25
|
Lexmark compatible
|
$111
|
$161.25
|
Lexmark
|
$90
|
$248
|
Canon
|
$59
|
$100
|
|
|
This page was last updated October 2001 by Science Applications International
Corporation on behalf of the New York City Department of Sanitation,
the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and
the US Environmental Protection Agency, Region II.
|