DENVER - Classes are just starting for many students, but schools aren't waiting to begin fundraisers.
Over 60 percent of school districts in Colorado are participating in the Cartridges for Kids program this year.
The Waste Management program pays participating school districts cash when parents or students donate printer ink and toner cartridges to be recycled.
The cartridges can be dropped off in specially marked recycling boxes located within the schools. They are then taken to Waste Management's Loveland based facility, where the company checks to make sure they still function, and then resells them to companies that refill and reuse cartridges.
"Instead of just throwing this in the trash, we want to divert the landfill with these [cartridges]," Chad Miller, the senior project manager in Waste Management's Electronics Recycling Division, told 9NEWS. "We bring them in and put them back in an environment where they can be reused."
According to Miller, the company collects about 250,000 cartridges a month from organizations across the country.
For more information please visit the Cartridges for Kids website at www.CFKtoday.com.
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