Los Angeles aims to ban single-use printer cartridges — new ordinance will target ink and toner that can't be properly recycled

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Most printers, laser or inkjet, are powered by cartridges that are single-use by design; you have to buy a new one when the old one runs out. This is exacerbated by the DRM-infested curfews manufacturers often put on these things, so you usually can't just refill them yourself. Thankfully, the city of Los Angeles is looking to put an end to the reign of archaic printing norms.

The City Council has voted to create an ordinance that will ban single-use printer cartridges that can't be refilled or that don't have a take-back program offered by the vendor. This includes basically any ink or toner module that's bound to end up in landfill — unable to be properly recycled and therefore in the way of Los Angeles' zero-waste ambitions.

Printer cartridges are usually built with a combination of plastic, metal, and chemicals that makes them hard to easily dispose. They can be treated as hazardous waste by the city, but even then it would take them hundreds of years to actually disintegrate at a waste site. Since they're designed to be thrown away in the first place, the real solution is to target the root of the issue — hence the ban.

To be clear, the LA City Council isn't trying to solve the printer ink crisis or even address affordability — most people only take into account the upfront shelf cost of a printer. The angle is environmental, tied closely to reducing unnecessary loops in the distribution pipeline. Even if the vendor is supposed to collect the empty cartridge from you, there's no point if it's being discarded on your behalf.

Brother genuine toner — Brother is a popular printer company that generally serves as an antidote to the established players (Image credit: Brother)

Another aspect is the sheer number of options available, as one can find duplicate or counterfeit cartridges in the market that hurt production. These dupes aren't designed to be refilled either: They're just cheaper, so their existence hurts manufacturing, which the government doesn't like very much. The new law, therefore, targets single-use cartridges that violate copyright laws or infringe on IP as well.

All those stories you've heard about companies blocking third-party ink or toner through firmware... those likely aren't going away. This ordinance is solely about controlling unnecessary waste caused by printer cartridges that you're forced to throw away with no recycling or remanufacturing programs in place. It still needs to be fully approved before it becomes a law and goes into effect, however.

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Hassam Nasir is a die-hard hardware enthusiast with years of experience as a tech editor and writer, focusing on detailed CPU comparisons and general hardware news. When he’s not working, you’ll find him bending tubes for his ever-evolving custom water-loop gaming rig or benchmarking the latest CPUs and GPUs just for fun.

3 Comments Comment from the forums

Li Ken-un

I want to know what sorry excuse Big Printer comes up with to defend the status quo.
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bill001g

This is a interesting way to in effect try to force refillable options from the big printer manufactures.

What I wonder is what happens if the companies decide to ignore laws passed by a city. Will they try to enforce it against the consumer by making possession illegal. They could stop sale in stores inside the city limits but this would just hurt the local business when people drive to the next city or in some cases walk across the street. How would they ever stop amazon shipments.
Sure they might make a company take carts back to "recycle" but what will they do when the company drives outside the city limits and puts them in a dumpster.

Cities like all government are some of the worst offenders when it comes to paper documents. When they pass the law the printer manufacture should just post a video of the CEO giving the city the finger. The cities only option is to buy a brand new printer from a manufacture that offers refillable options.
Reply
Li Ken-un

bill001g said:
Cities like all government are some of the worst offenders when it comes to paper documents.
That depends on the agency or department. Across the different ones I’ve worked with, the desks were almost barren—maybe a mini Christmas tree for a month out of the year and some photos pinned to the cubicle. All people needed were the dual-monitor thin clients into Azure Virtual Desktop and the documents stored within.

I honestly come up blank when I’m asked when the last time I had to print a page was. And the only time I’ve had to deal with paper was with my old-school accountant who wouldn’t take/send e-mail attachments or flash drives for fear of compromising his machine. So every year after I do my taxes, I take home a big packet of paper. All the other paper that comes in the mail is spam (credit card offers, political advertisements, etc.).

I’d be glad if the city corners itself into going all digital with this rule if the printer manufacturers don’t want to play along.
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