In a world full of answers on how to recycle just more or less everything under the sun there are always clever people who just go beyond traditional means. Over and over you hear about why you should recycle your printer cartridges from trying to save the environment to being able to save money and so forth. Even with today’s applied science the most overlooked resources often get over looked.

Printer Toner Recycled into Fingerprint Powder

Angus Carnie of 300 Recycling newly noted that he has had a fantastic response from all over the world for his solution to reprocess toner powder as forensic fingerprint powder.

Just as many people would assume to recycle a printer toner cartridge would mean you take it apart and then reconstruct it for resale. But with the new application of using it as a dust for the removal of fingerprints at a crime scene is just remarkable not only for the invention, but also for the value of recycling.

Printer and photocopier cartridges have been reused or broken down to recover the plastic and metal components; nonetheless, the waste toner powder presented a problem due to its complicated composition. Carnie eventually discovered that it made an excellent core material for print powders.

“Ironically, one of the other big issues was what to do with the different colors of toner, but I found that they were ideal for identifying finger prints on dark surfaces such as car dashboards,\” With yellow toner on a black background it makes for a very decided print.

Think doubly if your a thief. If you thought you were smart enough to get away clean think again. One step ahead is the law and in their hand is recycled printer toner from probably your toner cartridge you threw away.