Earth Day: Recycling at Office Depot

Most people don't think twice about throwing away old pens and pencils. But they take up space in landfills just like every other kind of trash, and they can just as easily be recycled with a little effort. Today and tomorrow, Terracycle and Newell Rubbermaid Office Products will help you do just that at Office Depot locations in Fountain Valley.

“One pen or marker might not seem like a significant addition to a landfill, but considering there are an estimated $5 billion worth of writing instruments sold in the U.S. each year, this is an opportunity to make a big difference,” said Ed Cooper, vice president of sales for Newell Rubbermaid Office Products.

Terracycle is a New Jersey-based company known for its line of school supplies made from recycled juice boxes and other recycled materials. Today and tomorrow, anyone who brings in at least 10 pens, markers or mechanical pencils to Office Depot will receive a coupon good for 50 percent off the purchase of any new product from Newell Rubbermaid, the company behind Sharpie, Expo and Papermate office supplies.

Terracycle will collect the old products and use them to make new products like trash cans and desk organizers.

“This is such an incredible initiative that Newell Rubbermaid Office Products and Office Depot have undertaken,” said Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle. “With all 1,100 Office Depot stores involved and Newell providing an incentive for people to bring in their used writing instruments, and the fact they can be any brand, we hope customers will see how simple it is to reduce the amount of garbage they send to their local landfills.”