If you are in the market for inkjet cartridges, you might be interested in a green alternative to OEM products. OEM means original equipment manufacturer. They are made from all new materials.

For example, when buying new HP Inkjet Cartridges, they are OEM, made from all new materials. OEM is not the greenest option.

Remanufactured inkjet cartridges are the greenest alternative. When cartridges are emptied, they can be reused and refilled. You have probably seen the do-it-yourself kits in a local department store.

Trying to refill the cartridge yourself is not as easy as the commercials make it seem. It’s messy and they rarely work properly. In fact, some Dell inkjet cartridges and other brands cannot be reset without a special tool. Even if you refill them with ink, the sensor will still say that the cartridge is empty.

The tools to reset the cartridge are quite expensive. You would need to go through at least 10 or more HP inkjet cartridges to get your money’s worth out of the tool. Plus, the tools are difficult to find, even online and they don’talways work.

Professional companies take the previously used OEM cartridge. They clean them and inspect them for breakage or imperfections. They reset any sensors that are present and refill them with the highest quality ink.

The remanufactured inkjet cartridges cost a little less than OEM. But, the big savings is to the environment.

Statistics indicate that remanufactured ink and toner cartridges could save as much as 283 million gallons of oil every year and keep 570,000 tons of plastic out of the landfill. Your toner cartridge probably came with an option to return it for recycling. This is how the remanufacturers get started.

You might be wondering how buying remanufactured rather than OEM Dell inkjet cartridges could save so much oil. Plastics are petroleum products. Every plastic item that you buy and then throw away is like throwing away non-renewable resources. If the item cannot be reused or recycled, it will sit in a landfill for hundreds of years, because plastics are not biodegradable.

As everyone is looking for the greenest alternatives, they continue to buy plastic and they fail to recycle. If you normally recycle or reuse in your home, you are doing everything that you can to protect the environment.

Buying remanufactured inkjet cartridges is simply one more thing that you can do. You will save as much as 60%, too. It’s a win-win-win situation.

Visit the Author's website: http://www.eco-inkjets.com