Business supplies provider Quill.com says it has recycled nearly 3 million ink and toner cartridges since launching a national Ink and Toner Recycle Program in 2011.

In 2013 alone, Quill.com collected 1.7 million cartridges. Year-over-year collections are increasing at a rate of 26 percent. Customers send used printer cartridges to the company using a downloadable, pre-paid mailing label. The returned cartridges are either reused as remanufactured cartridges or broken down and used in the production of other office supplies.

The program incentivizes also participants with a loyalty component that creates credits for future purchases.

Quill.com has collected a total of 2,982,856 pounds of used ink and toner cartridges. By doing so, the business has helped omit annual greenhouse gas emissions in an amount equivalent to about 260 passenger cars, according to Clover Technologies Group which handles the recycling and remanufacturing of cartridges.

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