DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

I’ve pimped Office Depot’s inkjet-cartridge recycling program three times in this space, most breathlessly in last September’s entry Never buy printer paper again!, for hosting what was the best inkjet cartridge recycling program in the world. Today I am sad to report that Office Depot has since eviscerated the program.

It happened just one month after that September endorsement, according to Wikipedia. Instead of a cashless exchange, cartridge for paper, now the stores offer a coupon with two significant usage limitations:

1. You can redeem one coupon per day, max.
2. You have to make a purchase greater than $3 to redeem the coupon.

Worse still, they don’t accept Epson cartridges any longer. The official rule is that only cartridges with print heads are eligible; this includes most HP and Lexmark cartridges, but apparently not most Epson or Canon.

So, whereas I used to bring 1-2 cartridges to the store, and leave with 1-2 reams of paper, now I have to buy something too — but actually, because my printer is an Epson, I’m not eligible to participate at all.

It’s easy to find alternative means of recycling inkjet cartridges; for example, Sonoma County residents can search the database at recyclenow.org for multiple local drop-off points (e.g. Whole Foods and Radio Shack). Numerous national programs can be found via google.