We’ve already covered recycling or reusing dead ones but Trevor has a question about recycling schemes for pens that still work:

Here at the School of Health Studies we get inundated with promotional pens from various medical and drug companies.

Most of these pens never get used and just fill up our desks draws. Is there any way of recycling them so that they can be used in third world schools or something?

I suspect most medical and drug companies aren’t going to pay any attention to a request for “no more pens, thanks” so it makes sense to want to pass them on to someone who’ll use them.

So does anyone know of any schemes to send school supplies to third world countries – or deprived ones closer to home?

(Photo by Zonnekoe)

We’ve had an email from Peri, asking:

I have many old school textbooks that i don’t need any more. how do i recycle them cheaply?

Peri doesn’t give any more information about how many is “many” or how old is “old” but I imagine it’ll be more than would be accepted in the standard waste system and old enough that they’re either too tattered or too out-of-date for use by other children.

So any suggestions about what can be done with them?

(And on a related topic, anyone got fun ideas for ways to cheaply protect new textbooks in the future? I remember that sticky-backed plastic was the standard thing we used for textbooks and exercise books but wallpaper was also fairly hardy – and often gave a fun surface to doodle on – and one of my school friend’s used newspaper, specifically the pink-coloured Financial Times, which looks great.)

(Stock photo by lusi – and our first reuse: “world’s most uncomfortable pillow” ;) )

Finally on this week’s Recycle This stationery theme, we’ve got this question from Nicole:

Now all my college’s lecture rooms FINALLY let you use powerpoint, I can get rid of all the OHP lecture notes I’ve created over the years. What can I do with them?

According to Wikipedia, most transparencies are sheets of cellulose acetate. The Google results are confusing but I think cellulose acetate can be recycled but I suspect it’s carried out more at a manufacturing level than post-consumer. Anyone know for sure?

What about reuses? I imagine they can be used like old photo negatives to make lampshades and the like – probably would work better for those with photocopied pictures, diagrams or text on rather than hand-written notes. Other ideas?

Other stationery items

• How can I make a notebook out of recycled materials?
• How can I reuse or recycle used envelopes?
• How can I reuse or recycle the spiral of a spiral bound notebook?
• How can I reuse or recycle hanging files?
• How can I reuse or recycle glue stick tubes?
• How can I reuse or recycle printer cartridges?

Next up in How Can I Recycle This’s Stationery Week theme, we’ve had an email from Agata:

Hi there! I’m still in High School and we use loads and loads of photocopies, mostly black&white.

I want to use them in some crafty way, like jewellery or house ornaments & decos, not just put them in paper savings bin.

Any ideas?

We’ve kinda already covered this before but because Agata wants crafty ideas, I thought I’d post it again to spark that sort of thing.

In the previous comments, ott suggestions papier mache, carrie “hobo notebooks” and Estelle gets her printshop to make stronger bound ones for her. I’ve also made beads from scrap paper in the past – I’ve used coloured paper but I bet the monotone print could make quite interesting beads too.

Any other crafty suggestions?

(Photo by float)

Other stationery items

• How can I make a notebook out of recycled materials?
• How can I reuse or recycle used envelopes?
• How can I reuse or recycle the spiral of a spiral bound notebook?
• How can I reuse or recycle hanging files?
• How can I reuse or recycle glue stick tubes?
• How can I reuse or recycle printer cartridges?

We’re having a bit of a themed week here on Recycle This, focusing on stationery and since stationery items are most frequently used in offices or schools, I thought it might be fitting to have a discussion on ways and ideas to help get organisations to recycle more.

Although I was inspired by the stationery stuff, I’m not just thinking stationery really – but also excess manufacturing materials. Or packaging for food in canteens/staff rooms.

Have you set up, or helped set up, a recycling scheme in your place of work or school?

What works? What doesn’t?

What do you think is most important when setting up a scheme? Should you start small (perhaps focusing on doing one thing) and build up or go straight into recycling everything all the time?

What are the best things to say to management/teachers to get them onboard? What about getting colleagues/classmates motivated too?

Any ideas, suggestions or comments would be very useful.

(Photo by budesigns)