Can you empty that box yourself and reuse it? Just asking because I was pleasantly surprised when I found out I could do this for a similar box in our office copy machine (this one catching waste toner particles) when the machine from one moment to the next stopped working without prior warning and wanted a fresh box.

I'm sure many do this. I honestly don't own a printer and make use of a nearby library instead.

some printers now use an "ink pad": "Caution: Power Cleaning may cause the ink pads to reach their capacity sooner. When an ink pad reaches the end of its service life, the product stops printing and you must contact Epson for support."

https://files.support.epson.com/docid/cpd5/cpd56719.pdf