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The plastic used to make the pens and highlighters is usually polystyrene and polypropylene. So, they are recyclable. Yet, this is not the case for all of the pens and highlighters; others do not specify what type of plastic they are made of.

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When is it recycled?

If the exterior barrel and cap are still clean and not stained with ink, then you can separate them from the ink barrel and throw them into your recycling bag, while discarding the ink barrel in the non-recyclable bin.

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When is it not recycled?

If the pen's exterior barrel and cap are stained with ink, it is not recyclable.

Avoid the brands that have no information regarding the types of plastic used in making the pen, they might be made from a combination of plastics and contain chemicals that will result in quality problems for the other recyclables.

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What now?

The way to find out is by searching for your specific pen and the type of plastic that it is made from (e.g. polypropylene BIC cristal pen, Stabilo polypropylene highlighter) to find out if it is recyclable or not.

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Did you know?

Pilot’s Begreen pens contain a minimum of 70% recycled plastic.

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How to recycle?

Remove the ink barrels and only recycle the exterior barrel.

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