New Product-Recycling That Pays Off

From the one man's junk is another man's treasure department.... FundingFactory.com asks schools to collect and mail in used laser and inkjet printer cartridges. In return, schools rack up points that can be cashed in for new computer equipment for free. "We've obtained lots of materials for our middle school that we wouldn't otherwise have been able to get," says Sandy Kendall, a librarian at the Greencastle Antrim (PA) Middle School. Among the equipment the school has selected from Funding Factory's Cartridge Recycling Program online catalog have been a digital camera and two "top of the line" inkjet and laser color printers.

The catalog contains more than 7,000 pieces of technology equipment, as well as playground and recreation equipment. Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, and Canon are among the cartridge brands the company collects. Up to six points can be earned for a cartridge, the amount depending on its make and model. An iMac can be yours for 2,397 points, while an iBook is worth 3,597 points, for example. "We banked our points," says Kendall, "until we had enough to purchase some large items. It took about two years to earn the printers and camera." With a lot of community support, however, she feels a school could earn equipment at a faster pace. Funding Factory (www.fundingfactory.com) sells the empty cartridges to companies that refill them or return them to the original manufacturers. It supplies schools with empty boxes and prepaid United Parcel Service shipping labels, to ship cartridges at no cost.