Clean Up Peterborough, a grassroots volunteer group founded by Steve Paul, has launched a county-wide challenge to collect 50,000 used writing instruments for recycling.
The county-wide challenge follows a Earth Month drive the group held in the City of Peterborough that collected 1,010 unwanted writing instruments to keep them out of landfills.
“We all know that people have things that might be put aside in their drawers and not throw away,” Paul told kawarthaNOW in April. “There are quite a few people that have pens that don’t work and, for whatever reason, they stick around.”
Paul points out that plastic-based writing tools are too small and complex for standard municipal recycling systems and often end up in landfills. For example, the City of Peterborough’s website recommends that writing utensils be disposed of in household garbage.
However, a recycling option does exist for the items. The non-profit organization TerraCycle offers a free writing instrument recycling program at Staples office stores across the country. TerraCycle will clean the donated items, separate them by material, and recycle them into raw formats that manufacturers can then use to make new products.
Since joining the TerraCycle program last October, Clean Up Peterborough has already diverted 1,476 pens, markers, highlighters, and mechanical pencils from the landfill — and is now “raising the stakes with a bold new goal” of collecting 50,000 of the writing instruments for TerraCycle.
Paul is encouraging individuals, families, local governments, businesses and organizations, and schools across Peterborough County to collect any used or unwanted writing instrument that contains plastic — including pens, markers, highlighters, and mechanical pencils.
“We’ve seen how fast these items add up,” Paul says in a media release. “Imagine the impact if every school, office, and community group in our county joined forces. It’s a small act with a big payoff.”
While the items can be dropped off at any upcoming Clean Up Peterborough event, Paul is also encouraging participants to create their own permanent drop-off station, run a collection drive, or sign up as a community partner.
Paul adds that decorating collection boxes using repurposed materials can also be a fun and eco-friendly activity for classrooms, teams, and families.
“This initiative is a great way to educate youth, encourage workplace sustainability, and bring people together through collective action,” he says. “Every pen matters. Every collection box helps.”
“It’s free, there’s no registration, and we’ll even pick up your collection (in Peterborough) and count it for you.”
Paul is also encouraging participants to share their creations and collection progress on social media using #WritingInstrumentChallengePTBO.
The county-wide challenge will also include a friendly competition where Clean Up Peterborough will spotlight the top collectors — whether a school classroom, local business, or community club — from across Peterborough County.
For more information about the county-wide challenge and for updates on upcoming Clean Up Peterborough events, visit Clean Up Peterborough on Facebook and Instagram or email Steve Paul at cleanuppeterborough@gmail.com.
With files from Megan Gallant.
