As we express ourselves creatively and print our literary or graphic masterpieces, here are some important earth-saving points to ponder about our everyday printer cartridges:

• In 2005, over 700 million new cartridges were sold in the US, 60 million in Canada, and 500 million in Europe.
• Over 100 million remanufactured cartridges will be sold worldwide.
• Two and a half ounces of oil are used for every ink jet cartridge produced.
• Three and a half quarts of oil are used for every laser cartridge produced.
• Each laser print cartridge, on average, consists of approximately 2.5 pounds of plastic - primarily acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) - along with steel, aluminum, and rubber.
• Manufacturing each printer cartridge requires approximately 3 quarts of petroleum to power the manufacturing process that converts oil and natural gas to plastic.
• Each cartridge contains petroleum as ÒembeddedÓ energy (i.e. the fuel value of the plastic itself). It takes the energy equivalent of approximately one half gallon of oil to make one 2.5 pound cartridge.
• A new laser cartridge uses an average 3 quarts of oil to produce and adds 2.5 pounds of industrial grade plastic to the waste stream.
• By some estimates, nearly 8 ink and toner cartridges are thrown away in the US every second (approximately 240 million per year).
• Industry analysts estimate that a spent ink and toner cartridge can be reused between four and seven times.
• Over 88% of all ink jet cartridges sold in this country are thrown away, according to industry statistics. Laser cartridge recycling is a very large industry employing thousands of people, and yet over 50% of the cartridges are still deposited in landfills every year. This translates to 350 million cartridges that end up in landfills or approximately 875 million pounds of environmental waste. Stacked end to end, these discarded printer cartridges would cover a distance of 24,000 miles - enough to circle the earth.
• Half a gallon of oil is conserved for every laser cartridge returned. With the US consuming approximately 700 million gallons of oil a day, we are helping to conserve a valuable natural resource and reduce greenhouse emissions.

Remember: Oil is a nonrenewable fossil fuel, and it can not be remade.

One final, positive visualization:

• In the next seven years, if all the laser and ink jet cartridges are saved from landfill, a bridge can be built from the Earth to the Moon - 223,000 miles.

Please recycle.