I agree with you about TerraCycle. Whether you like their stuff or not, it's still stuff that will end up in a landfill someday. Putting off the inevitable isn't the best solution to our problem.

I like the idea of a refillable marker! Now I'm going to have to explore what the innards are made of and if they can be recycled or composted. If Crayola would both recycle the marker tubes and offer refillables...awesome.

Domaine names reserved, working on website. New to it all, learning curves involved!

http://recycleyourday.com/get-.....r-markers/

Keep going! Get that website up!

As for Terracycle, while I know they have their heart in the right place, I have seen some of the products they make out of juice boxes and candy wrappers, and all I can say is "hella fuggly." The wallets and bags are just extra stuff in this world that I find downright unattractive, but that's just my taste.Your mileage may vary. I know some people like them or they wouldn't buy them.

The best solution would be for Crayola to develop a refillable marker.

TerraCycle DOES accept Crayola markers through their Writing Instruments Brigade. And they will pay .02 for each marker which can be designated to the non-profit of your choice. Nice! I think Sharpie and PaperMate are official sponsors but TerraCycle accepts all markers and writing instruments, no matter who the manufacturer is. You need to sign up with them before you can send in markers but it seems straightforward and simple. Plus, they will send you postage paid labels for a mailing a big box of markers.

http://www.terracycle.net/brig.....s-Brigade-

I'm not sure what TerraCycle does with markers and pens. Not sure if they repurpose (I think they call it upcycle) them or recycle

them.

I still hope to have dialogue with Crayola about recycling their own markers back into markers! It would be great to have another option for keeping the markers out of landfills.

Amy

http://blog.sharpie.com/misc/t.....le/pop.htm

Do you have a Twitter account? Maybe create one for Take Back the Markers.

Let me know when your web site is up!

http://www.facebook.com/group......038;ref=mf

Next: a website, letter writing campaign, a petition. Thanks Beth!

Amy Sundback

You might also want to start a petition.

AND you could do what we did for the Take Back The Filter campaign and get people to send you their used markers! You could have the intention of delivering them to Crayola after you have collected a certain number -- whatever number you think will create a big impact.

I would be happy to share with you tactics we used for the Take Back The Filter campaign. We also contacted many other environmental organizations and bloggers to help us spread the word.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/.....314?ref=nf

Cheers,

Amy

Thanks, Joules. I like it too and am hoping that we can all learn from each other this way.

Inspired by Beth, I just sent my second letter to a manufacturer this month asking them to consider plastic-alternative packaging. While it's a small step, i think it adds up.

Both companies in this case advertised some environmental benefit of their product, so I thanked them regarding that issue, told them I, too, am concerned with environmental issues and encouraged them to take it a step further.

I figure that even manufacturers and stores that are not concerned with the environment are still concerned with wanting my money, so why not tell them what I do and don't like about their products.

-Joules

"...I’ve gone ahead and submitted your suggestion in our customer file that will be distributed to company leaders at the end of this month. At this time we package our bread with an outer wrapper and a moisture barrier to prevent the bread from drying out during frozen transport. It might be difficult to eliminate our inner wrapper because of the conditions involved in shipping, but we understand the importance of sustainable living and will be working hard at finding better solutions to issues like this one regarding packaging..."

I asked them about a bread mix they could sell in bulk = less packaging per serving. Maybe nothing will happen, maybe something will. I think the real problem with the baked bread is that the inner wrapper seals the moisture in the bread, the outer wrapper allows the customer to reseal it when they get it home. I wrote back and suggested that they keep the inner, sealing wrapper, maybe apply a resealing sticky flap, and print their brand and nutrition info on it - but I don't know if the sticky flaps (like they have on the packages of cookies I can't eat anymore) have a recycling impact or not.

In the very least, I definitely appreciate the plastic that is in my life a lot more. Markers and bread wrappers both :D