Be A Good Partner

Be a good partner to your recycling redemption company by following their guidelines. Be sure to:

• Obtain their latest list of accepted cartridges
• Update the list regularly and pass it on to donors
• Sort through donated cartridges and weed out broken and beyond repair units
• Follow the company’s schedule for redemptions and payment
• Follow shipping instructions, and package large donations conveniently for easier processing 

Recruit Donations

Remember that you are not limited to your immediate support base for cartridge donations; you can reach out to other individuals and groups, too. Some good ways to increase donations are by:

• Calling area businesses and asking them to set aside their used ink cartridges; assign someone to pick the cartridges up to make it even easier on the company.
• Encourage your group’s members to collect ink cartridges from their employers, friends, family, and others. You might consider supplying a second outreach letter that can be given to peripheral supporters.
• Set up community collection boxes; attach a letter or sign explaining what can be donated and who will benefit (your group). All you have to do then is regularly check and empty the boxes. Note that some businesses might welcome a drop box at their office, too—they can drop their cartridges in, and so can their employees and clients.

Protect Your Profits

You can ensure that your collections are protected by packaging them well and according to the recycling companies suggestions before shipping; that way, more of your units will be accepted and paid for. Some tips for packaging large shipments of ink cartridges follow:

Lastly, be sure that your packages are labeled correctly so that they get where they are going. If pre-printed materials are provided, use them—they will ensure that the correct addresses and postage are used, and may include an ID number that lets the company know who you are.

You can feel good about this easy recycling ink cartridge fundraising project!