Charities as well as consumers could miss out if proposed new regulations on the recycling of inkjet cartridges come into force.
The UK Cartridge Recycling Association (UKCRA) has issued a warning concerning the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) proposal to classify inkjet printer cartridges as consumables rather than electrical waste, which is covered by the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive.
The organisation predicted the move would result in growing numbers of empty cartridges being dumped in landfill sites rather than being recycled.
Failure to include cartridges under WEEE, the group said, would mean original equipment manufacturers will no longer have to recycle cartridges, and will make more use of the smartchips that prevent cartridges from being refilled and reused.
Remanufacturers have warned that the expense of back-engineering these smartchips to fit cartridges would make it uneconomical for the industry to continue to offer cheap refills, meaning customers will lose out.
But so would charities that currently generate hundreds of thousands of pounds in funds from selling donated spent cartridges to recyclers.
Graham Good, operational manager for ActionAid, said: "It depends on the type of cartridge, but we can sell HP and Lexmark cartridges to recyclers for around £4 per cartridge. We get around £3.50 for Canon cartridges.
"This allowed us to raise £400,000 in the first six months of this year from the inkjet cartridges we received from consumers and companies."
Good said recyclers buying fewer spent cartridges from outlets such as charities and schools would be the knock-on effect of excludin cartridges from WEEE.
He also advised that computer users willing to donate used cartridges should do so soon after use, as the residue ink dries over time making it harder or impossible for them to be reused.
"Cartridges are an important source of income for charities," he said.
"At the moment what is going on doesn't appear to be having any affect. But when it happens we will see it overnight."
