Simple Idea of Recycling Cartridges Grows Into Major Charity Drive
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Carlie Albano found a connection in spent inkjet and laser cartridges six years ago in upstate New York and charities have much to thank for that union.
What started as a one-woman push in 2002 out of a garage in the Rochester, N.Y. area has blossomed into an organization that has generated in excess of $1 million for charities.
“A friend was refilling them (cartridges) in Florida and I thought I’d give it a shot,” Albano said.
The cartridge crusade caught fire quickly.
“Within three months, I had 600 companies signed up,” said Albano, who at the time was a real estate agent.
In the beginning, Albano’s business model was simplistic to the core (pun intended). She would drive around her neighborhood in Rochester, asking for empty cartridges to stash in the trunk of her car.
It took her months to collect enough to make her first shipment to a remanufacturer. “I sent out about 500 inkjets and 500 lasers and that was my start,” Albano said.
Flash forward six years. Albano’s charitable work — centered around cartridges — is a full-time gig.
From her garage, Albano’s work has spread to a 10,000-square-foot warehouse. Albano handles a staff of six, including herself, at Imagine It Fundraising Through Recycling. The group also recycles such things as cell phones and iPods, but Albano said cartridges make up about 80 percent of her venture.
Five days a week, three trucks are available to roll for pick up of recycling bins in upstate New York. Schools, universities and grocery stores are among the approximately 2,500 companies now involved with Imagine It.
Albano, 34, said she got a “taste for sales” by selling cars for three years to help her get through college.
According to Albano, Imagine It “consistently” deals with about 40 remanufacturers. “Establishing a relationship with them (remanufacturers) has been a huge key to this being successful.”
Albano, who got the idea to get into the charitable business when she was pregnant with the first of three children, starts by having logistical meetings with organizations.
Elementary schools — some of which garner $300-500 by working with Albano — are staples in the Imagine It program.
Faculty and students are given flyers concerning the program at a school. Imagine It sets up collection bins. Once collected, cartridges are sorted and visually inspected and Albano said inventory is sent out about every two weeks. Money is sent back to Imagine It and is finally distributed.
“I’ve established solid relationships with remanufacturers,” Albano said. “But I want to make it perfectly clear I am not a broker. This is all for charity.”
— Dan Mooney
Contact Imagine It
This article originally appeared in the December 2008 issue of Recharger.