Recycle More Than Ever with Ontario's Blue Bin Program

Ontarians have been using the Blue Bin program for many years. Since it's official launch in 2004, there are over 95 percent of Ontarians who take part in this program today. More than 900,000 tonnes of waste have been diverted from landfills as a result of this program. People now have consciously made an effort to recycle more than ever.

Even with the Blue bin program's outstanding achievements in reducing waste, some are still unsure on what really goes into the Blue bin. To help with this confusion, here's a list of items that go in the blue bin and ones that do not.

Items that CAN Be Recycled (Durham region)

• Glass Bottles and Jars
• Aluminum Cans and Clean Pie Trays
• Steel cans (metal beverage and food cans)
• Empty Aerosol Cans (with lids removed)
• Empty Paint Cans (with lids removed)
• Tubs and Lids (containers for spreads, yoghurt, cottage cheese)
• Newspapers, magazines, catalogues, telephone books and paperbacks
• Household papers (letters, envelopes, bulk mailings)
• Corrugated Cardboard
• Boxboard Cartons (cereal, tissue and detergent boxes)
• Gable Top Cartons (cream, milk, juice)
• Drink cartons (juice, soup and wine boxes)
• Plastic bottles with a twist-off top (up to 10 liters in size)

Items that CANNOT Be Recycled (Durham region)

• Glass (drinking glasses, dishes, crystal, window glass, light bulbs)
• Aluminum Foil
• Plastic Film (e.g. grocery or shopping bags)
• Styrofoam Packaging Polystyrene (nursery trays, clear muffin trays)
• Containers larger than 10 litres in size

This is a general list of items that can or cannot be put in the blue bin. Each municipality may have a slightly different list. However, all have a general idea of what goes in the Blue bin. Hopefully, this list will clarify confusion and will allow for proper waste disposal.

This article was brought to you by IMS Inc., one of Canada’s leading suppliers of the highest quality manufactured laser printer, inkjet and ribbon cartridges.Visit http://www.imsinkspot.com.

Tips on Reducing Carbon Footprint

What is carbon footprint? According to Clayton Sandell, from ABC news, it is "the measure of the amount of carbon dioxide that goes into the atmosphere as you go about your daily life."

Each one of us emits carbon dioxide to the atmosphere while we use normal gadgets at home and at work. The carbon is emitted by the power plants that produce the power to run or recharge electronic and mechanical equipment.

By following these simple tips, we can make our world a cleaner and safer place to live.

1. Unplug electronics when not in use.
2. Turn the lights off in rooms that are not in use
3. Do not leave the faucet running while brushing your teeth.
4. Print on both sides of the paper
5. Use refillable ink cartridges
6. Use recyclable paper
7. Reuse envelopes, folder or binders
8. Carpool to work
9. Maintain proper tire pressure to save on gas
10. Do not leave your car idle for too long
11. Walk, bike, or take public transportation.

The higher our carbon footprint, the more pollutants we release in the atmosphere. These are just a few of the things we can change in our habits in order to save our atmosphere.

This article was brought to you by IMS Inc., one of Canada’s leading suppliers of the highest quality manufactured laser printer, inkjet and ribbon cartridges. Visit http://www.imsinkspot.com.

How to Choose the Smart Printer that Saves Energy

Many businesses make an effort to reduce the use of paper and printing. However, we cannot achieve a 100% paperless office, at least not in the near future. This makes it important to choose the best printer or printers that not only use ink sparingly, but also saves energy.

Some appliances including printers have Energy star symbols attached to them. For printers to qualify for this symbol they would need to:

1.      Consume a set level of energy per week (Total Electricity Consumption
Approach – TEC), or;
2.      Must automatically enter low-power modes of a prescribed level (Operating
Mode Approach – OM).

These two criteria are reliant on the type of printer engine, product speed, and product size.

Under the OM Approach, a standard sized inkjet printer with a speed of 25 inches per minute should have:

1.      Go into sleep mode after 30 minutes of idle time.
2.      Consume a maximum of 1W of Standby power.
3.      Consume no more than 3W of power in Sleep mode.

Choosing an appropriate printer technology and capability can help reduce your business’ energy consumption. For example, if you do not require high quality images or printing speed then you may not need a laser printer or colour inkjet printer. A regular inkjet (black and white) printer would produce near-laser quality printer outs and would be an energy efficient alternative to laser printers. However, if your office requires printing large volume of paper then a faster printer (like laser) will probably be your best bet. They consume less energy per page.

Another important feature is energy consumption during standby mode. Consider how your office prints documents. Does the printer sit on idle for short or long periods? If your answer the latter, it is advisable to choose a model that reduces its energy consumption while in stand-by mode.

Remember to ask your vendor specifically for the printer’s energy consumption during printing, idling and energy-saver details before making a decision. This will help make your business energy smart. This article was brought to you by IMS Inc., one of Canada’s leading suppliers of the highest quality
manufactured laser printer, inkjet and ribbon cartridges. Visit http://www.imsinkspot.com.

How to Extend the Life of Your Printer Ink Cartridge

Extending the life of your printer ink cartridge is quite easy. Shaking the cartridge isn’t the only way to get more ink out of the cartridge, which, by the way, can cause leakage. By following a few simple steps, you can help prolong the life of the printer ink cartridge and allow you to be less wasteful, and help the environment in the long run.

   1. Preview your documents. Previewing a document before printing is the best way to avoid printing documents with errors. Typographical errors or misaligned images on the page can resort to printing loads of paper to get the correct information printed out. Using a spellchecker, grammar checker, and the Preview option in your computer can help save ink and paper.

   2. Print Draft-quality prints. If it is necessary to print out a document to double-check image alignment or general errors, use draft-quality printing. This can be set in your printer software. This way the amount of ink used will be minimal.

  

3. Print regularly. Use your printer regularly. Print draft-quality prints if necessary as long as it is being used. The ink cartridge can dry up when the printer is left unused for a long period of time. Dried printer ink can clog your printer head which can produce low quality printouts or worse, damage your printer head.

4. Unplug your printer when not in use. Power the printer down properly and unplug it from the wall. Heat from the electricity may cause the ink to clog the printer head. Clogged print heads can print low quality printouts and can overall damage the printer.

Following these few easy steps will lengthen the life of your ink cartridge. This article was brought to you by IMSinkspot.com.

Why Should You Use Remanufactured Print Cartridges

Over 330 million ink and toner cartridges are
discarded into North American landfills.

According to Statistics Canada, over 350 million ink and toner cartridges are discarded into North American landfills. That number is rising by 12% annually. By recycling your laser and ink jet printer cartridges, you will help divert the amount of plastic that end up into landfills. These days, most cartridges can be recycled up to six times and are guaranteed by most manufacturers to work as if they were brand new.

To recycle your used print cartridge, read the instructions in the box of your new laser or ink jet cartridge to find out how to recycle it. Some manufacturers will provide instructions, packaging materials and free postage if you wish to recycle your old cartridge. These cartridges are reconditioned, refilled, and used again, using all new toner and components to our ISO 9001/2008 and ISO 14001 standards.

By taking the steps necessary to reduce the need for new materials, you become more proactive in environmental conservation. You can contact IMSinkspot to learn more about your options. IMSinkspot is Canada’s premiere eco-friendly print supplies manufacturer. IMSinkspot does their part to help reduce landfill waste and affect positive environmental change. Contact IMSinkspot today, and they can provide you more information about remanufacturing your old laser printer cartridge.