What PRINTERCARTRIDGE RECYCLING LTD does

PrinterCartridge Recycling Ltd is a UK-based private company operating from Milton Keynes that runs a buy-back service for empty, refilled, and unused original inkjet cartridges, with a secondary mobile phone recycling stream at £3.50 per kilo. Customers use a self-serve website (printercartridgerecycling.co.uk) to identify cartridge models via a Cartridge Price Finder or a Quick Add view, build a basket with a £10 minimum value, and receive a prepaid Royal Mail Tracked 48 label for free nationwide collection including Northern Ireland; payment is made by automated bank transfer after items are booked in. The company holds UK Waste Exemption Certificate WEX 385031, Northern Ireland Waste Carrier registration ROC UT 8038, and ICO data protection registration, formalizing its regulated waste-handling status.

The business model combines two revenue streams: arbitrage on the spread between per-unit buy prices (typically £0.05-£3.50 empty, up to £8.00 unused surplus) and resale of usable surplus cartridges primarily through its own eBay shop. A complementary charity donation channel directs basket proceeds to partnered charities including Keech Hospice and Computer Aid, serving as both a marketing lever and a fund-raising mechanism for schools. Pricing is unit-based and pay-as-you-go, with no subscription, contract, or enterprise tier.

The customer base is fragmented across individual consumers, schools, SMBs, and charities transacting small per-unit amounts, and the platform supports a dedicated bulk-collection workflow for sellers with 50 or more cartridges. Distribution is wholly domestic UK through the company website, eBay marketplace, and Royal Mail logistics, with no disclosed geographic expansion, external funding, or M&A activity. Headcount is reported at 1-10 employees and the company has operated continuously for over 20 years under founder-ownership.

Name

PRINTERCARTRIDGE RECYCLING LTD

Legal name

Printer Cartridge Recycling Ltd

Website

https://printercartridgerecycling.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PrinterCartridge Recycling Ltd is a UK-based private company that buys empty and unused inkjet cartridges and mobile phones from individuals, schools, and SMBs via a self-serve website, paying by bank transfer after free Royal Mail Tracked 48 collection.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Printer cartridge recycling services

NAICS

Waste Collection (56211)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Printer, Copier & Imaging Equipment Recycling (MPS Returns) (BPALAIAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Post-Consumer Plastic Collection & Sorting (MRF/PRF, Bale Supply) (EUAIAKAA)

Keywords

• Printer cartridge recycling
• Inkjet cartridge buyback
• Surplus cartridge resale
• Mobile phone recycling
• Waste carrier services

Headquarters

HQ city

Milton Keynes

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Cartridge Purchase and Resale: The company purchases empty, refilled, and unused original printer cartridges from individuals and organizations, then resells usable surplus cartridges primarily through their eBay shop and potentially through their own website. Revenue is generated from the margin between purchase price paid to sellers and resale prices.
2. Charity Donation Processing: Provides platform for charities and schools to collect cartridges on their behalf, generating donations for partnered charities including Computer Aid and Keech Hospice.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Printer Cartridge Recycling Ltd operates a UK-wide online buy-back service that purchases empty inkjet cartridges and unused surplus inkjet cartridges from individuals, households, schools, charities, and small-to-medium businesses, paying via automated bank transfer with free Royal Mail Tracked 48 collection. The company also purchases mobile phones by weight and resells unused surplus inkjet and laser toner cartridges through its eBay shop, while supporting charitable fund-raising via partnerships with Keech Hospice and Computer Aid. The recycling process is 100% landfill-free and conducted under UK Waste Exemption Certificate WEX 385031.

Product overview

Printer Cartridge Recycling Ltd operates a cartridge and mobile phone recycling marketplace with multiple sales channels. The core offering is a UK-wide service that buys empty inkjet cartridges, unused surplus cartridges, and mobile phones from individuals and organizations, paying via bank transfer with free Royal Mail shipping. The company supports charity donations and maintains an eBay store for surplus inventory. They accept cartridges from manufacturers including HP, Canon, Brother, Epson, Samsung, Lexmark, Neopost, Dell, Kodak, and Frama Matrix, but do not accept empty toner cartridges, compatible/remanufactured cartridges (except for Brother, Epson, and Kodak which they do not accept at all), or Brother/Epson/Kodak compatible cartridges.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Inkjet Cartridge Recycling Service UK-wide buy-back service for empty inkjet cartridges from manufacturers including Dell, Canon, Brother, Samsung, Lexmark, Neopost, HP, and others, with prices ranging from £0.05 to £3.50 per cartridge. Customers add eligible cartridges to an online basket (minimum £10), receive a prepaid Royal Mail Tracked 48 label, and are paid via automated bank transfer within 48 hours of items being booked in. Empty toner cartridges are not accepted.
• Unused/Surplus Cartridge Purchase Service Buy-back of new, factory-sealed unused original inkjet cartridges that are surplus, offering substantially higher prices than empties (for example, HP 308e Black £7.00 unused vs £1.50 empty; Canon CL-586XL £7.50 unused vs £2.25 empty; Epson 27XXL Black £8.00 unused). Eligible unused cartridges can be added to the same basket as empties using the standard Royal Mail Tracked 48 workflow.
• Mobile Phone Recycling Buy-back of mobile phones priced at £3.50 per kilo through the same website basket and Royal Mail Tracked 48 workflow as cartridges. Sellers must remove SIM cards and factory reset devices prior to shipping.
• eBay Surplus Cartridge Resale Shop Online marketplace store selling unused, new, and surplus inkjet and laser toner cartridges from manufacturers such as HP, Brother, Canon, and Epson at competitive prices. Operates as a secondary sales channel that monetises the surplus cartridges purchased through the buy-back service.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% landfill-free recycling process
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Keech HospicecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCharitable partnership where Keech Hospice receives donations from cartridge collections. Customers selecting Keech as their charity have their basket funds directed to the hospice. PCR provides the collection infrastructure while Keech benefits from environmental fundraising.
• Computer AidcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerComputer Aid is an ICT4D organization providing computers to developing countries. Partnership converts empty cartridges and mobile phones into funds for Computer Aid's global computer donation programs spanning over 100 countries.
• Royal MailcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRoyal Mail provides the Tracked 48 prepaid shipping labels used by customers to send cartridges. This enables free UK-wide collection service essential to PCR's operations and value proposition.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Close the Loop: Australia-based printer cartridge and e-waste recycler operating zero-landfill processing across the Asia-Pacific region. Directly comparable in product category (cartridge recycling) and zero-landfill positioning, but serves a different geography than PCR's UK-only footprint.

Broad incumbents

• HP Planet Partners: HP's official cartridge return and recycling programme, offering free shipping and credit/gift cards for HP cartridges. Directly competes with PCR's buy-back model for HP empties and surplus units, with the structural advantage of OEM-level subsidisation.
• Veolia: Large global waste management and environmental services operator with e-waste collection capabilities. Indirectly comparable as a waste carrier operating at much larger scale, posing a competitive threat if Veolia were to expand into consumer-facing cartridge buy-back.
• Office Depot: Major office supplies retailer offering cartridge recycling and trade-in across its global store network. Broad incumbent with recycling as one part of a wider office supplies portfolio, competing with PCR for SMB and institutional volume.
• Staples: Global office supplies retailer with cartridge recycling and toner return programmes. Broad incumbent with recycling as a complement to its core retail and B2B supplies business, serving overlapping SMB and institutional customers.

Direct peers

• Cartridge People: Large UK printer cartridge retailer and recycler offering trade-in and recycling for empty and surplus cartridges. Comparable in customer base, OEM coverage, and self-serve e-commerce motion, with a larger product catalogue and broader consumer reach.
• Cartridge Monkey: UK-based printer cartridge retailer that also purchases and recycles empty and unused cartridges. Same customer segments (SMBs, individuals, schools) and same UK market, with overlapping OEM brand coverage and e-commerce-led distribution.
• 123 Ink: UK-based online cartridge retailer offering competitive pricing on OEM and compatible cartridges. Comparable in product category, customer base, and e-commerce distribution, though 123 Ink is more retail-focused than buy-back focused.
• Cartridge World: Global franchise network focused on printer cartridge refilling, remanufacturing, and recycling. Operates a directly comparable buy-back and resale model for empty and surplus cartridges, with retail storefronts serving the same small-business and consumer base as PCR.
• Toner Giant: UK online retailer of printer cartridges and toners that also runs recycling/return programmes. Same UK geography, same target customer segments, and overlapping e-commerce-led cartridge distribution model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/PrintRecycle
• Facebookfacebook.com/PrinterCartridgeRecycling
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/printer-cartridge-recycling
• Instagraminstagram.com/printercartridgerecycling

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PRINTERCARTRIDGE RECYCLING LTD