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Fountain Pens Made From Recycled Materials


mr T.

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Manufacturers like Bic and Pilot have ballpoints that are made of recycled materials in their range. Examples of these products are the Bic Ecolutions Round Stic or the Pilot B2P Begreen. Interestingly, the writing instruments that are made of recycled materials all seem to be disposable pens. Why is there so little ecodesign in fountain pens? Why are there so little attempts to reduce the use of non renewable resources in fountain pen manufacturing? (or am I wrong?) Do fountain pens made from recycled materials even exist?

Edited by mr T.
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Why?

 

Why I should use second quality material. And recycled material is second quality.

The Pilot B2P Begreen, is a marketing trick for the modern kids...it's the in thing...right...ok.

 

 

I recycle pens all the time. I buy only used pens.

 

 

Two....there is not enough junk pens to make collecting the various different plastics to melt them down to re-make fountain pens, worth while.

 

Even cheap old pens are worth more than their plastic/ and or metal weigh worth; to any that know.

Hell a dollar for a junker at a flea market is worth more than trying to sell it to a recycling plant.

 

I don't mind using traditional used rag paper...if and when I can afford it.

 

Recycled paper is not up to snuff for fountain pens either...good enough for ball points.

Using recycled paper is like using 'recycled' re-capped tires. You can use them or that paper, not I.

Edited by Bo Bo Olson

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Many pen lovers take the recycling concept to its higher degree: we buy used pens, paying enough for it so that others invest time and effort in repair and restoring them, instead of throwing old pens to the garbage bin when they're old, like so many ballpen users do. So is not us who need encouragement to recycle, I would say.

I'm a user, baby.

 

We love what we do not possess. Plato, probably about pens.

 

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I think its a scale of use difference, the ballpoint pen is designed to be disposable in the first place, and as such has a need to be ecologically friendly when it happens. A Fountain pen on the other hand is designed to last much longer, and go through multiple refills rather than replacing the entire unit. The only place for a recyclable FP would be in the disposable market, like the Varsities or VPens.

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I put all of my pens in my trash can.

 

Then I look in my trash can to see if there are any things that can be recycled. I find the pens, and after looking at them for a while, and the materials they are made of, I realized that they might make excellent writing instruments. So now I am using pens made out of recycled pens that I found in the trash.

 

Unless you yourself make your own pen, or have one custom made, you are buying a pen that already exists. If you don't buy it, either someone else will, or it will end up in a landfill.

 

If someone else buys a pen made of new materials, they may only use it for a few weeks, then not want it anymore, throw it away, and it goes into a landfill.

 

Or you could buy that pen instead, and be sure to use and enjoy it for many years, keeping it out of that landfill, and you are having the same effect as recycling.

 

recyclable - reclaimable: capable of being used again

 

The second time you use any pen, you have recycled it.

 

So long as you don't throw away a pen after only using it once, you don't have to feel guilty. Use it 100 times and you can really be proud of how many times you recycled it.

 

 

Look at it this way...

 

You can either buy disposable fountain pens that can only be used once, or you can buy reusable fountain pens made out of new materials and be eco-friendly.

 

:happyberet:

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Well, there's that bunch who were offering ghastly ghoulish pens made of bits of Titanic...

When you're good at it, it's really miserable.

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As others have pointed out, a refillable fountain is, by itself, a recyclable product; even the glass bottle the ink comes in can be recycled when your done with it. The more "disposable" the product, the more potential marketing value a producer might derive from highlighting the use of recycled or recyclable components in its manufacture. Therefore, with the possible exclusion of pens such as the Varsity, I don't see any advantage in slapping a recycle triangle on the body of a fountain pen. As has also been noted here, particularly on the higher end pen lines, the recycle symbol might actually detract from the perceived value of the pen. If that were to happen, the pen never gets sold and ends up being destroyed. Bad for the environment.

 

Anything sold in a blisterpack of two or more plastic pens/pencils ought to have at least some level of recyclable components; even if the pen/pencil is capable of being refilled. As a practical matter, most of those pens are made with such cheap plastics that I doubt the vast majority of users probably toss them when the ink runs out. On the other hand, a Jotter is forever!

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Many pen lovers take the recycling concept to its higher degree: we buy used pens, paying enough for it so that others invest time and effort in repair and restoring them, instead of throwing old pens to the garbage bin when they're old, like so many ballpen users do. So is not us who need encouragement to recycle, I would say.

 

Speak for yourself.

 

I gave up on recycling after my bin men proved to be useless and I found myself transporting my recylced waste to the dump myself. Still have a massive box of beer cans in the Garage for Xmas.

 

Not sure I'd want to pay hundreds of pounds for a recycled pen. I can understand the cheaper ones doing it but not luxury items - recyling is not luxury.

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Recycled is a way for others to make money on your junk and charge you for it.

 

Once there were old rag, newspaper and junk dealers. You sold it to them. You made money, they made money and some one else made money.

 

Now you pay so that others make money, and they got a law that says you can't sell it, because they can't/won't buy it from individuals, but only from authorized companies.

 

Out side your car....that you can junk and get paid for.

 

Burning your old newspapers ash to fertile your flowers is illegal.

 

 

 

Where I live in Germany, you got to pay for extra garbage cans. You need three, one for garbage that stinks and two for garbage that don't. You got to separate your garbage...or get in legal trouble.

Then they take it to the same huge incinerator and burn it all at once, the good garbage, the bad garbage, and the ugly stinking garbage. So you got to pay three times for that one fire.

 

Get you coming and going...after all the State needs money. There are poor bankers to support.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Fountain pens are made to last, not to be thrown away. There's no reason why anyone would want a fountain pen made of recyclable materials. Unless you really need a recylced pen to go with your vegan food and hybrid car so you can look down on non eco-friendly sinners...

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Product Details

Colorful and cartridge refillable fountain pens seem to be gaining popularity in Japan. The treasured spirit of writing is captured in a new and modern form.

 

The Platinum Preppy, like the Pilot Petit1, is a compact fountain pen available in different ink colors. The stainless steel nib is colored to match the color of the ink. It's refillable with cartridges and made of 40% recycled plastic (how green!)

 

--Jetpens.

 

The only part of the pen that has to be recyclable are cartridges.

 

BTW -- since you really don't know where the aluminum came from, all aluminum, steel, gold, etc may be recycled. However, you really can't tell the difference since aluminum is aluminum and metal is metal -- it really doesn't matter especially if the recycling is done well.

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handwriter wrote:

 

"Many pen lovers take the recycling concept to its higher degree: we buy used pens, paying enough for it so that others invest time and effort in repair and restoring them, instead of throwing old pens to the garbage bin when they're old, like so many ballpen users do. So is not us who need encouragement to recycle, I would say."

 

+1

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Why are there so little attempts to reduce the use of non renewable resources in fountain pen manufacturing? (or am I wrong?)

 

Fountain pens are made to be reused and not disposed I suppose. I guess a better analysis would be to look at the inks, as that is the more consumable aspect to the industry. You have an example of Noodler's Ink refusing to use cartridges, and only bottles.

 

I get the feeling that "eco" materials is for most part a marketing gimmick. Items that are made of 40% (or some blend thereof) recycled materials may just mean that the manufacturer has added recycled lawn-clippings to the melting plastic. (I hate the smell of lawn clippings)

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I've got a Sigma Classic (kit pen) made using the oak from an old Theakstons beer barrel, does this count?

 

Simon

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I've got a Sigma Classic (kit pen) made using the oak from an old Theakstons beer barrel, does this count?

 

Simon

 

No doubt a very peculiar pen at that...

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