How Can You Recycle Plastic Ballpoint Pens Without Melting Them?

According to the website Quality Logo Products (qualitylogoproducts.com): The United States alone produces about 2 billion pens every single year and an estimated 125 ballpoint pens are sold every second.

Also, according to the website Earth 911 (earth911.com): Americans toss 1.6 billion disposable pens annually. Usually these plastic pens end up in landfills and some in waterways as purely litter.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the 1.6 billion ballpoint pens plus the several times greater in number ballpoint pens disposed by all the other countries combined multiplied by 50 years present a huge environmental disaster.

So, anyone who could find a way to recycle these ballpoint pens stands to make good money as there’s literally an inexhaustible supply of them just waiting around to be recycled. Since most of these ballpoint pens are toxic, it doesn’t make sense to recycle them by melting them.

WHAT ARE A FEW WAYS TO RECYCLE BALLPOINT PENS WITHOUT HAVING TO MELT THEM?

(Please Note: Images are for reference only and not the actual design)

Since the body of plastic ballpoint pens are hollow, you can just cut both ends of the ballpoint pens to create a narrow straw-like tube. You of course need to smoothen the two edges you just cut to ensure that the user’s lips won’t get nicked by any sharp plastic edges.

You also need to clean the ballpoint pens turned straws for hygiene purposes. You can immerse them in hot water mixed with soap and then thoroughly wash them with clean water. You can then dry them up in a clean environment.

If the ballpoint pen has a label like the name of the brand and some other markings, you can remove them by using a sandpaper although an industrial tool like an electric grinder would do the job in a minute and even seconds.

Since there are already very cheap paper and plastic straws available in the market, you should sell your plastic ballpoint pen straws at the higher end of the market. For example, you could etch or draw designs on your straws such that they appeal to design oriented consumers.

You could also use the ballpoint pen cap as a covering accessory for your designer straw. The ballpoint pen cap cover would ensure that the part of the straw which touches the lips of the user stays hygienic.

Firstly, let me warn you that such a device can be dangerous in the wrong hands, for example to very small children especially the naughty ones. But in the right and responsible hands, they can bring in hours of fun and even utility. There are a few versions you can make:

Version 1: You can use the ballpoint pen body or the ink tube as the needle handle. You of course need something heavy like a small stone to make sure that the light needle always behaves like a dart. You can sell these darts as souvenir items if you add designs to them.

Version 2: You can use the ballpoint pen body as the blowgun and the ink tube as the dart. You have the added option of not having to add a needle at the ink tube turned to dart. You can sell this as a souvenir or a children’s toy.

Version 3: This is version 2 but with ballpoint pen caps added to both edges giving the ability for the ballpoint pen turned blowgun to be closed/sealed at both sides. This basically turns the ballpoint pen turned blowgun into a dart carrying case.

Version 4: Combine two or more ballpoint pens to create a much longer and more powerful blowgun. This would appeal to buyers who want more power from their ballpoint pens turned blowgun.

There are a variety of ways you can use ballpoint pens as building materials for handicraft and artwork projects. Here is a YouTube example: DIY Desktop Organizer Waste Paper | Recycle waste paper | Desk Organizer | Paper Crafts.

You have the option of removing or not removing the sharp part of the ballpoint pen which contains the ballpoint mechanism of the ballpoint pen. However, it is advisable that you do so to be able to create handicrafts and artworks similar to popsicle sticks artcraft.

You could for example just like popsicle artcraft create boxes, containers, small houses and so on. You can also paint your ballpoint pen artcraft just like you would do with popsicle artcraft. You can combine ballpoint pens of different colors to create a colorful but unpainted artcraft.

However, unlike popsicle sticks which are manufactured to be smooth from the very beginning, you might need to sandpaper your ballpoint pens just in case there are any labels or other designs that might interfere with the beauty of your ballpoint pen artcraft.

Since, plastic ballpoint pens are more sturdier than popsicle sticks, it is entirely possible to create bigger works of artcraft like small furnitures from ballpoint pens. For example, you could create shoulder bags made out of ballpoint pens.

Since the body of ballpoint pens is hollow, it is entirely possible to make beads out of them by cutting them into very small slices. Of course, the size of the beads would be entirely dependent on the length of your slices.

They would be ideal for trinkets and even jewelry. There are already commercially available plastic beads that are used for bracelets, necklaces and so on. All you have to do is replace these completely or mix them with these commercial beads to create something unique!

Also, as you scrounge around for disposed of ballpoint pens, you are not likely to find a uniform design and especially coloring. But rather than a disadvantage, this is actually an advantage to you as you can mix ballpoint pen beads of different colors for added beauty.

But if you’re after a more uniform or same color ballpoint pens, you might elect to wait until you have a certain quantity of similar ballpoint pens before you make you trinket or jewelry. However, if this is not an option, you may elect to color you ballpoint pen beads with paint.

You should have no problem if you’re making clear colored ballpoint beads. This is because most ballpoint pens come in a clear colored body. That is why you shouldn’t have much problem creating uniform beads of clear color.

In a way, tube ballpoint pen jewelry is easier to make than ballpoint pen beads. This is because instead of cutting a ballpoint pen body into a multitude of pieces to create beads, you only need a few slices or even might use the entire ballpoint pen body as jewelry.

Another advantage of tube ballpoint pen jewelry is that you can slightly bend them by heating them up a little. Of course, this requires a bit of practice for the skill to be developed by you. But you can make awesome ballpoint pen jewelry if you’ve mastered it.

You can also combine your tube ballpoint pen jewelry with your ballpoint pen beads or any commercial beads that you prefer. In fact, there is no limit to the amount of combination you can apply.

Since your tube ballpoint pen jewelry has a lot of surface area, you can add etchings and labeling to it. For example you can etch or scribble people’s names in them or even complete short quotes.

Don’t forget that besides jewelries like necklaces, bracelets and earrings, you can also create keychains out of tube ballpoint pen jewelry. You can even use the ballpoint pen caps as jewelry if you are creative enough.

Simply put, you can make a toy out of almost anything which includes ballpoint pens. For example, you could combine several ballpoint pen caps together to create a spaceship toy. You just need to be imaginative.

Out of the ballpoint pen body themselves, you can fashion them into miniature toy rockets. The ballpoint pen mechanism would serve as the pointy edge of the rocket while the body of the ballpoint pen would serve as the rocket’s body.

You could also fashion ballpoint pens into miniature trains and most bullet trains. You could insert a long string in the hollow part of the ballpoint body and then “slide” it to make it appear that the train is moving along the string.

You could also fashion ballpoint pens into twirlers, flails and nunchucks. You can also turn them in bows and arrows. Children love playing with toy weapons and these harmless toys would give them hours of fun!

If you create these ballpoint pen toys just right, you can also sell them as souvenir items and not just toys for small children. Buyers would immediately see the artistry it takes to design these toys considering that ballpoint pens are small objects that are difficult to put a design to.

These are just some of the few creative ideas that disposed off ballpoint pens can be refashioned into. They might not turn into high ticket items but considering that disposed of ballpoint pens are freely abundantly available, there could be money in them yet.

Also, these ideas don’t require the burning/melting of the ballpoint pens to be recycled. These ideas can also be made with simple tools and can be done just about anywhere. Maybe you should give these ideas a try.

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