Recycling and eco-services.

Start greening your office.

Outdated technology doesn't have to end up in a landfill. So when it's time to upgrade your hardware or replace your ink and toner, count on Staples to recycle it responsibly — and make it easy.

Ink and toner cartridge recycling

Recycle your empty ink and toner cartridges at your local Staples® store and get $2 back in Staples Rewards® for each one. So not only will you save on future purchases, but you can also feel good about reducing waste in our landfills.

Limit 10 cartridges per customer per month.

Free technology recycling

Bring in your old office technology products to your local Staples and we'll responsibly and securely recycle them at no cost to you — any brand, any condition, even if you purchased it somewhere else. See the chart below for accepted technology products.

Items accepted for free recycling*:

Desktop computers
Laptops, tablets, eReaders
Monitors
Desktop printers, copiers, scanners, faxes, all-in-ones
Shredders
UPS/battery backup devices
Peripherals including mice, keyboards, modems, routers and PC speakers
Small electronics including GPS devices, digital cameras, MP3 players, mobile phones and cordless phones
External hard drives and small servers

Prohibited items not accepted for recycling:

Televisions
Floor model copiers and printers
Appliances
Large servers
Stereo/home AV equipment
Alkaline batteries
Rechargeable batteries larger than 12 pounds
Lamps/bulbs

*Limit 6 items per customer per day. All brands of items are accepted regardless of where purchased. Staples® Copy & Print Shops do not accept electronics for recycling, but all other U.S. Staples locations accept electronics for free recycling.

We strive to ensure data security in the recycling process — while our recycling partner erases or destroys hard drives and memory-containing devices, we encourage our customers to erase all personal data from their devices before recycling them. For computers, you can try the free software programs DBAN or Eraser. For mobile phones, check your user manual to get directions on implementing a factory reset.

Our recycling partner, Electronic Recyclers International (ERI), is a certified e-Stewards® Recycler. This means ERI is audited and certified to utilize responsible recycling practices to ensure environmental protection. Refurbishing and recycling electronics helps extend the useful life of products and reusable parts, captures valuable metals and plastics for reuse in new products, and keeps toxic materials out of landfills and incinerators.

More than 20 states in the U.S. have introduced legislation mandating electronics waste recycling. To learn more about electronics recycling laws and programs where you live, visit ERI's summary of e-waste legislation by state. You can also visit Earth911.com and 1800Recycling.com to learn how and where to recycle items that Staples cannot accept.

Rechargeable battery recycling

Bring your old rechargeable batteries to your local Staples for free recycling. All collected batteries are responsibly recycled by Call2Recycle.

We accept all rechargeable battery types that weigh less than 12 pounds. Lithium and alkaline batteries are not accepted.

Green copy & print services

Every day our standard copies are printed on 50% post-consumer recycled paper. And 100% recycled-content paper can be requested at no charge. All of our Copy & Print paper is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which means it's harvested from responsibly managed forests. Plus, every one of our copy machines is ENERGY STAR® qualified.

Did you know?

In 2011, Staples U.S. customers recycled more than 67 million ink and toner cartridges. Our goal is to recycle 100 million each year, globally, by 2020.
In 2011, Staples collected more than 13 million pounds of old technology to be recycled in the U.S. Our goal is to recycle 40 million pounds of technology waste each year, globally, by 2020.