Shiny Green Button

I’m a writer by trade, so I go through a fair amount of pens. I hate tossing dead ones in the trash, but there’s really no good alternative. Until now:

Sharpie, Paper Mate and EXPO have formed a partnership with TerraCycle  to repurpose used pens, markers and other writing instruments. Touted as the world’s first program to collect and reuse writing instruments, the partnership will also help raise funds for schools, charities and non-profits nationwide, as well as reduce waste headed for landfills.

Each pen recovered is worth 2 cents to the school, community group, charity or nonprofit organization of the participant’s choice. Drop locations will be set up at corporations and schools. Shipping is prepaid. And then returned pens will be upcycled to make new products.

Not to reduce it to a crude formula, but there’s a lot to like about this program. It’s simple for anyone to participate. There’s an incentive. It covers both environmental and social angles. It’s got the backing of companies. And it’s got economic upside for TerraCycle.

That’s a story that can virtually write itself.

Just wish I’d thought of it first.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 5:16 pm and is filed under Sustainability, Waste and recycling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.