We all have a number of pens at home and use them pretty much on a daily basis.
But what effect does this have on the environment, is pen ink biodegradable?
Pen ink is not biodegradable. This is because some of the materials it is made up of are not natural and do not decompose. These include oil, oleic acid, and alkyl alkanolamide.
Perhaps you’re wondering what it is about pens and pen ink that makes them so bad for the environment.
The next portion of this article will answer these questions.
Is Pen Ink Toxic to the Environment?
Do you spend a lot of time writing? Whether it’s writing essays, taking notes, or jotting down a shopping list, we all spend some time putting pen to paper.
What can we say about our writing utensils? Pens. How good are they for our planet? And more specifically, is pen ink toxic to our environment?
Pen ink is toxic to the environment. There are a few reasons why ink damages our planet. The following is a list of just some of them:
- Pen ink is made from chemicals that are toxic to the environment. These include oils, oleic acid, and alkyl alkanolamide.
- Traces of ink left inside a pen can leach into our soil and end up in our groundwater. This pollutes our soil and water. It also affects the plants and wildlife that live in these areas.
- When traces of ink leach into our soil, it reduces the nutrients in the soil. This interferes with plant growth and affects the animals that depend on that plant.
Since pen ink is so toxic to the environment, we must take steps to do something about it. One of the things we can do is only buy pens when we really need them.
Another is to use our pens until they are finished. Using electronic methods to take notes is also a good way of helping the environment.
Is Ballpen Biodegradable?
Ball pens are just one of those stationery items that we all have plenty of. There is rarely a household that doesn’t have a ball pen.
With ball pens being so popular, we often wonder about their environmental effects. Is a ballpen biodegradable?
Ball pens are not biodegradable because they are made from synthetic materials. Both the pen itself and the ink are made from materials that do not decompose.
These materials sit in landfills for hundreds of years before they finally degrade into microplastics. As they degrade, these pens damage our environment.
But what is it about ball pens that makes them non-biodegradable? Here’s what’s in a ball pen and what it does to the environment.
| Part of the pen | What it is made of | How it degrades |
| Cap | Plastic | Plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose in a landfill |
| Barrel | Plastic | Plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose in a landfill |
| Ink tube | Plastic | Plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose in a landfill |
| Ink | Dyes, solvents, and fatty acids | Dyes, solvents, and fatty acids leach into our soil and end up in our groundwater. This endangers our ecosystem. |
What Are the Most Environmentally Friendly Pens?
Do you want to swap to a more eco-friendly writing utensil? Then what about getting your hands on an environmentally friendly pen? Ok, we know what you’re thinking.
Eco-friendly pens? What are they and how good are they for the planet? Take a look below to answer these questions.
- Recycled paper pens. These pens are made from 100% recycled paper.
- Biodegradable corn pens. These pens are made out of cornstarch.
- Metal inkless pens. These pens never run out and are made from and written with metal.
- Refillable bamboo pens. These pens are made from bamboo and have refillable ink cartridges.
- Fountain pens. Fountain pens are refillable.
Even if you cannot get your hand on an eco-friendly pen, there are still some practices you can follow to make your pen usage more sustainable.
Here are a couple of tips that will support the environment.
- Only buy the pens you need
- Use your pens until the ink runs out
- Write information electronically whenever possible
How Does Pen Affect the Environment?
We all have a drawer full of pens at home in different colors ready for taking notes and jotting things down.
But how does our drawer of pens affect the environment? To answer this question, let’s consider what we know about pens.
The cap, barrel, and ink tube of a pen are made of plastic. Plastics are harmful to our environment because they sit in landfills for hundreds of years before they degrade.
As they begin to degrade, the plastic parts of the pen turn into microplastics. These microplastics are absorbed into our soil and end up in our groundwater.
The ink in a pen is made up of dyes, solvents, and fatty acids. These materials leach into the soil at landfills and end up in our groundwater.
They interfere with plant and marine life and pollute our ecosystem. The ink in a pen is toxic to animals and has a negative effect on our ecosystem.
Pens are lightweight. Because of this, they can easily be tossed by the wind and end up in our rivers and streams where they will pollute the water.
The small parts of a pen can be a choking hazard to some animals.
Final Thoughts
Pens are the writing utensils we all have and need. Even as our lives turn more and more digital, every household has a set of pens, and that’s something that will not change.
With that in mind, you may wonder, is pen ink biodegradable?
This article has explained that pen ink is not biodegradable. This is because it is made of synthetic materials.
These materials end up leaching into the ground at landfills and damaging our groundwater and ecosystem.
So, to do your bit for the planet, make sure you use your pens until they run out. Or even better yet, why not opt for an eco-friendly pen or even a pencil?
