Today, I have some exciting news to share with you. Have you heard of Terracycle? Well, they are a company devoted to upcycling, so in other words, they find “trash” and turn it onto new products. Perhaps you’ve seen kites made from Skittles wrappers or bookbags made from Capri Sun pouches. Several schools and organizations participate across the country, and they actually receive money from Terracycle for collecting and sorting their trash! Just recently, they started a new recycling brigade with Sanford Brands, a division of Newell Rubbermaid,to collect used writing instruments like Paper Mate & Uniball pens, Sharpie Markers, and Expo dry erase markers, and here’s why: Americans alone purchase over 106 billion ballpoint pens every year, and eventually, every single one ends up in a landfill. Not to mention the billions of markers that dry out every year and get tossed. That’s a LOT of plastic, but Terracycle found a way to create a second life for writing instruments. TerraCycle will convert the depleted Paper Mate, Uniball, Sharpie, and Expo® writing instruments into other fun and innovative products.