What Happens to Your Ink Cartridges After You Recycle Them?

When you send us your empty HP or Canon ink cartridges for recycling, you're not just getting rid of waste — you're supporting a system that helps protect the environment and reduce demand for raw materials. But what actually happens to your cartridge once it's left your home?

Here’s what goes on behind the scenes.

Step 1: Collected and Sent to Certified Facilities

Once you drop your used cartridge into one of our free recycling bags or post it with a Freepost label, it’s collected and securely shipped to a certified recycling centre. These centres work directly with HP and Canon to ensure cartridges are handled responsibly and according to strict environmental standards.

Step 2: Sorted by Brand and Type

At the facility:

Cartridges are sorted by manufacturer and model
Any non-genuine or incompatible items are removed
Only genuine HP and Canon cartridges proceed to the next stage

This ensures each cartridge goes into the correct recycling stream for its brand.

Step 3: Broken Down and Separated

Each cartridge is carefully dismantled to separate its components:

Plastic is shredded and cleaned
Metals and circuitry are recovered
Residual ink is safely removed and treated

These raw materials are then prepared for reuse — not in refilled cartridges, but in the manufacturing of new genuine products.

Step 4: Materials Reused to Make New Cartridges

The recovered materials go back into the production cycle. HP and Canon use them to:

Produce new original cartridges and printer parts
Reduce reliance on virgin plastics and metals
Support closed-loop recycling systems that keep resources in use for longer

Some new HP cartridges, for example, are made using over 75% recycled plastic from returned cartridges.

Step 5: Zero Landfill Policy

Both HP and Canon operate with a zero landfill goal for their cartridge recycling programmes. This means:

No part of the cartridge is wasted
Anything that can’t be reused is safely disposed of according to environmental best practices
The focus is always on material recovery