Ink bottle disposal? Dismayed I cannot recycle! Refill?

[T_H_M]

I switched from HP to Canon because of the ability to refill tanks rather than buy cartridges. I saw this as a way to reduce my enviormental impact, but it seems I was short-sighted in my evaluation. I suddenly have these sturdy bottles with a scant bit of ink left in them which I must toss in the trash! I wish there were a way to send them back for refilling .... something! If anyone knows of a company which refill or recycles these, I would love to know about it. Thanks.

[T_H_M]

They have no recycling # on the container. 

[yourcableguy]

Putting them in the regular recycle will still put them in a landfill.

[yourcableguy]

I came here looking for the same thing.  There's no reason they couldn't have a program to reuse them.

[shwaun]

Ship them in bulk back to Canons recycling department and let them deal with it:

Canon USA, Inc.
Attn: CETI
5980 Industrial Drive
Gloucester, VA 23061-3874

[oycart]

I found a solution to this problem.  I bought ink made by someone other than Canon who bottles the ink in recyclable containers.  So, given that the business model for printers is "sell the printers cheap because we'll make it back on the ink," Canon potential profit from the sale of my printer and will continue to because I will continue to buy non-Canon-made ink until they start using recyclable bottles.  Cheers!

[Stephen]

We were told that the bottles are fully recyclable as of a couple of years ago. You should see the ♻ logo on the bottom of the bottle. If you do, you can drop the bottle in your blue bin. The inks are non-toxic.

Also, non-Canon inks aren't recommended because we don't know what is in them. We have formulated our inks very specifically to work with these units and provide not only the best print quality, but the consistency of the ink so it doesn't clog the hoses or printhead in your printer. 

[oycart]

I suspected/hoped that the mention of buying non-Canon ink would FINALLY be noticed by Canon because EVERY printer manufacturer ALWAYS recommends their ink over others. This thread started more than three years ago and no one from/representing Canon has ever participated/responded.  My first post even asked Canon to pay attention to this issue. If you were told a couple of years ago that the bottles were fully recyclable, why didn't you or anyone else from Canon post something in this thread earlier, some how notify customers, or announce it widely?

The last of the Canon ink bottles I have absolutely do not have the recycle symbol on them anywhere!  Trust me . . . I've searched for it under the brightest of lights and even using a magnifying glass!  Because they don't, I cannot drop them in my blue bin.

Lastly, I've had the similar experience as yourcableguy when using off-brand ink for other printers I've owned in that they made no difference whatsoever in print quality regardless of the type of print (documents vs photos).  I don't dispute that some off-brands can affect print quality, but not all.  

While I appreciate that a Canon representative has finally addressed this thread, it feels like "too little too late," and I will probably continue to buy off-brand ink for my Pixma.

[Stephen]

Honestly, I never saw this thread. I'm not sure why nobody else responded other than the Community isn't intended for official support from Canon. This piece of info isn't something everyone "just knows," it just so happens that I retain almost everything, so I thought I'd chime in. 

Regarding the bit about using non-Canon ink - our refill bottles are super cheap, so we don't really make any money off them. We don't want you to damage your printer inadvertently, that's all! 

[oycart]

Thank you for your reply.  Because you do work for Canon, maybe you could bring this issue to someone who could verify and that bottles with no recycle symbol are, in fact, recyclable and do some kind of broadcast announcement regarding this?  Or suggest to them a recycle program where bottles could be returned to you for reuse?  Those kinds of programs engender a kind of brand loyalty.

Again, thank you for posting🙂

[Stephen]

They absolutely are.
however
If the recycling in your area doesn't support the kind of plastic used in the bottle you can send them to our facility in Glouster, Virginia. We recycle everything 100% with zero landfill waste. I linked to the Canon USA page above, but you can learn more about Canon Virginia's environmental initiative HERE. Their campus is so beautiful and surrounded by gorgeous Japanese cherry blossom trees!