WHERE should we recycle used pens? The first answer that comes to mind is 'in the yellow bin', which is marked envases ('containers') but is in fact where hard and soft plastics, as well as tins, cans and milk or juice cartons are deposited – although apparently, this is not the case.
Biros, ink pens, whiteboard markers and Tipp-Ex pens or bottles cannot be placed in the yellow bins because their content contaminates the rest of the recyclable material, according to firms responsible for managing reusable waste.
A company called TerraCycle operates in several parts of Spain and takes on waste which is notoriously difficult to recycle – pens being among them – although their presence is not widespread, and in the Canary Islands, is completely absent.
But youngsters from the Polytechnic vocational college in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria studying environmental chemistry have set up a scheme for recycling pens and other plastic-based stationery items, such as broken rulers and pencil-sharpeners, and metal objects such as compasses, paperclips and drawing pins.
They have called it the 'Proyecto ARBol', which translates as 'Tree Project' but stands for 'Acción para el Reciclaje de Bolígrafos', or 'Action for the Recycling of Pens'.
According to the students, they want to prevent metal and plastic desktop items from ending up in the islands' landfill sites when they break or stop working – or, worse, dumped in the region's beaches and numerous nature reserves and national parks.
Their scheme has generated a great deal of enthusiasm among the public and, with the help of a growing number of volunteers, has managed to spread across all the islands and gain the support of each island council, or Cabildo.
The Cabildos have started distributing hundreds of 'pen banks' throughout offices, schools and colleges.
Once full, the contents are stored in local recycling headquarters until they can be transported to Gran Canaria, where TerraCycle collects them up in bulk and takes them by ship to their specialist recycling plants on the mainland.
Some of them are in good enough condition that they can be restored, but others are melted down to make other plastic products.
The Proyecto ARBol has attracted the attention of French biro producer BIC, which now collects up masses of the material and takes it back to a specific recycling plant in the south of France.
But there is still plenty of work to be done, says TerraCycle.
“For the moment, we have not found a satisfactory solution for transporting packages from the Balearic Islands, Ceuta, Melilla or Andorra.
“The financial and environmental cost of transport from these geographical areas does not allow us to collect used pens, but we will advise you when we find a solution.”
It is only since awareness of limited landfill capacity, plastic waste in the sea and water supply, soil and water pollution and the impact of fly-tipping on flora and fauna has become widespread that society is starting to realise disposable pens are an environmental problem – not only through lack of possibilities for recycling, but also because of the toxic effect of their ink on the natural environment.
Spain has around eight million young people in full-time education and, if each of these used just one 10-gram biro a year, they would generate a minimum of 80 tonnes of plastic and ink waste annually which would end up in landfill – not counting members of the workforce who use pens every day.
TerraCycle.com includes an interactive map on its website – found by searching 'bolígrafos' – showing all the collection points in Spain.
For every 20 kilos it receives, the sender will receive 'TerraCycle points' – one point being worth one cent – that can be exchanged for material for schools, clubs or societies from a minimum of 1,000 points.
Individuals as well as councils, schools, offices and colleges can send their used pens – TerraCycle recommends waiting until they have 20 kilos or more so points can be passed on to the association or education centre of their choice.
They should be placed in a cardboard box and the sender should contact the specialist courier firm Envialia to collect them.
TerraCycle says used pens, once collected, are stored, cleaned and then shipped to their factories or plants where they are turned into 'products for everyday use, such as chairs and benches in parks'.
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