🇦🇺 Where and How to Recycle Printer Cartridges in Australia

There are plenty of local and nationwide services in Australia — either Australia Post, collections or drop-off options — that recycle printer cartridges, and we've put together this guide to help find the best solution for you.

Unused Cartridge Recycling

⚠️ Got any full / unused cartridges?

Firstly, if you have full & unused cartridges still sealed in their packaging do not recycle them along with your empties — they can be reused instead if they are genuine original versions from the printer's manufacturer.

Send them to cartridgeforest who plant 2 trees with partner charity Trees for the Future for every unused cartridge they accept:

Recycle Full Cartridges ♼

Empty / Used Cartridge Recycling

Option 1. Pickup By Cartridges 4 Planet Ark

If you use more than 3 cartridges per month, you may be eligible for a free collection box and bags to return your empty cartridges in with Close The Loop who operate Cartridges 4 Planet Ark.

Each bag comes with a reply-paid sticker for Australia Post, or in Metropolitan areas you can arrange a pickup from your office.

Recycle with Close The Loop

You can return all types of items: ink cartridges, laser / toner cartridges, toner bottles, fuser drum units, print heads, waste toner hoppers and kits.

They've partnered with manufacturers Brother, Canon, Epson, HP & Kyocera cartridges, Toshiba, Fuji, Xerox, Samsung, Sharp, Dell, Konica Minolta and Lexmark, so you can recycle cartridges from all these brands without worrying. And they accept remanufactured cartridges from Cartridge World too.

However, if you just use third-party branded cartridges, they are likely to charge you for the service at a rate of around $3AUD per third-party toner.

Option 2. In-Store Recycling Drop-Off

There are also free drop-off locations that collect used cartridges that are also operated by Cartridges 4 Planet Ark / Close The Loop.

You can take your cartridges to any Officeworks store, and any participating Australia Post, Cartridge World, Harvey Norman, The Good Guys, JB Hi-Fi, Office National and Office Products Depot outlets. They all take empty cartridges — inkjet cartridges, toner cartridges and toner bottles — in-store.

Search for locations near you 🔎

This is a more straightforward solution if you only have the occasional cartridge, or if you use third-party cartridges. They will take any brand of cartridge, and do not typically levy charges as above because they can collect in bulk at these locations.

Option 3. Return to Manufacturer

Many printer manufacturers have Australia-based takeback schemes.

Most of these cartridge manufacturers are also registered with Close The Loop / Cartridges 4 Planet Ark, so you can use the pickup and drop-off options above instead unless otherwise noted.

Individual manufacturer schemes, if they don't use Close The Loop's service, will typically accept only cartridges that they manufactured in order to reuse them, or break down the materials for recycling.

Brother

As a Brother customer, you can drop off your used cartridges free of charge at one of thousands of retail collection partners Australia-wide, such as Officeworks, Australia Post, Harvey Norman, Office Brands and The Good Guys, through the Planet Ark programme as described above.

Canon

Canon is a founding member of the Cartridges for Planet Ark program (C4PA) which has recycled more than 51 million cartridges since it began in 2003. Free collection boxes are delivered to Canon customers and picked up when convenient. Instead of heading to landfill, the old cartridges are used to make other products.

Dell

Dell no longer offers a cartridge takeback system but you can return your cartridges to Planet Ark above.

Epson

Epson direct their customers to the drop-off and pickup options offered by Planet Ark above.

Fuji Xerox

Fuji / Xerox offer return through the Planet Ark programme above.

Hewlett Packard (HP)

HP have free services for their entire range of cartridges. You can drop off your empties at a retail store with the Planet Ark programme, or if you have more than 76 toner cartridges or more than 1,000 ink cartridges, a free pallet pick up can be arranged.

Kodak

Kodak's printers were discontinued in 2012 and they no longer offer a recycling option.

Konica Minolta

Konica Minolta accept returns of all items also through the Planet Ark programme above.

Kyocera Mita

Customers can request — free of charge — recycling boxes from their authorized Kyocera dealer. Fill the boxes with depleted and waste Kyocera toner containers, seal and send to our recycling facility partner, Close the Loop.

Lexmark

Lexmark's LCCP programme - run through the Close The Loop programme - offer a free solution also.

Recycle Lexmark cartridges

Oki

Oki no longer offer a recycling program for their toner cartridges, but you can return them using the Planet Ark options above.

Panasonic

Panasonic have not produced printers in over a decade, and no longer have a recycling option.

Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes no longer has recycling options. Please try the other options in this cartridge recycling guide.

Neopost

Neopost has no postal return service for their ink and toner cartridges in Australia. Please try the other options in this cartridge recycling guide.

Ricoh

RICOH is in partnership with Close the Loop. Just follow the instructions here to register and book collection of your items.

Samsung

HP now handle the recycling of Samsung cartridges.

Toshiba

Toshiba have also partnered with Close The Loop.

Option 4. Refill at a Cartridge Refill Shop

If you can't find somewhere to recycle your cartridge, you may like to have your cartridge refilled at a cartridge refill shop, like Cartridge World shops, saving the need to send it away and saving money on your new cartridges.

Most cities have shops dedicated to refilling cartridges, and will normally be happy to take your empty cartridges if you get them refilled there.

Find Cartridge Refill Shops Near Me

Why Recycle Empty Cartridges?

75% of empty cartridges are not recycled even though there are plenty of reuse and recycling options, and many of them are free and easy to use.

A typical cartridge, with its plastics and electronics, will take up to 1,000 years to degrade in a landfill site, but having an empty cartridge reused saves up to 5 lbs of CO2 compared to making a new cartridge from scratch.

everycartridge.com is here to help you to find and use the many services that exist locally and nationally, and cut through the misinformation to ensure that your cartridges do not go to landfill.