Writing Instruments Brigade®

Each year, millions of writing instruments are needlessly discarded and end up in landfills. Sanford® Brands, a division of Newell Rubbermaid®, has partnered with eco-friendly innovator TerraCycle®, to create a second life for writing instruments.

Every time you Bring Life to Words™, with a Paper Mate® pen or Uncap What's Inside™, with your Sharpie® permanent marker, we want you to think about the environment and save used writing instruments to send them to TerraCycle. TerraCycle will convert the empty writing instruments and packaging into other fun and innovative products. For each approved writing instrument received, your collection location will be awarded two TerraCycle points, which can be redeemed for a variety of charitable gifts or for a payment of $0.01 per point to the non-profit organization or school of your choice.Please click here to learn more about the TerraCycle Points Program!

Participating in a TerraCycle Brigade is totally free! There are no signup or participation fees, and the shipping is covered by the program. Once you have joined the Writing Instrument Brigade®, simply follow the steps below to receive your TerraCycle points:

1. Collect enough writing instruments to fill up a box or bag (approved waste is listed below). Remember to reuse a shipping box or bag and use eco-friendly padding! To receive a TerraCycle point donation, you must ship at least 7 lbs to receive the TerraCycle point donation.
2. Download a pre-paid shipping label from terracycle.com. To acquire a pre-paid label, simply access your TerraCycle account online, and click “SHIP US YOUR WASTE”. You can print them out yourself or request that TerraCycle send the label.
3. Ship the box to TerraCycle by affixing the pre-paid postage label and dropping it off at a UPS location.

For more detailed information please check out the Writing Instrument Brigade FAQ.

And to make collecting all your waste that much easier, download our helpful TerraCycle "Collect, Store and Ship Guide" for some tips and tricks that will make the collection process simple and mess-free. Also check out our Writing Instruments Brigade Thermometer Poster to help promote your efforts and keep track of your collections.

Check out the image below to see some examples of the types of waste that are accepted through this Brigade program. You can also download this as a poster.

Writing Instrument Brigade accepted waste:

1. Pens and pen caps
2. Mechanical pencils
3. Markers and marker caps
4. Permanent markets and permanent marker caps