To celebrate World Refill Day on 16 June, Pilot Pen Australia has launched a new initiative to encourage Australian businesses to change the habit of a lifetime by switching from binning to refilling their pens.
The Eco Pack contains 12 refillable pens made from recycled materials, each in a paper pouch with three refills that can be placed on a desk or workstation, therefore, workers can simply grab a refill, rather than automatically throw their used pen in the bin.
Made from FSC-certified recycled packaging and printed with vegetable-based biodegradable ink, each Pilot Pen Eco Pack is equivalent to 48 pens, which represent a cost saving of 52 per cent and a 67 per cent reduction in plastic waste.
All business across Australia are invited to take part in the trial by visiting the Pilot Pen Eco Pack website. Everyone who registers will receive a free Eco Pack of pens and refills.
“We are inviting Australian business to join us in a national ‘Don’t bin it, refill it’ trial so we can all work together to reduce the estimated 2.6 million tonnes of plastic waste that gets thrown into landfill each year,” said Jarrad Murray, head of marketing, Pilot Pen Australia.
“The trial will help us understand what office worker are doing with their plastic pens on a day-to-day basis and will help us work towards developing solutions down the track.
“We are hoping by placing it in a visible, accessible spot, it will help prompt employees to think before they throw.”
According to the government’s National Waste Report 2022, business and commercial waste contributed to around half of all plastic waste in Australia last year, and just 13 per cent of this was reused, recycled or used for energy recovery – the lowest recovery rate of all types of waste.
“Recycling has its place, however, refilling is higher up on the waste prevention hierarchy as it’s about avoiding plastic waste by extending the life of a product. We are hoping our initiative will help office workers adopt a refilling mindset when it comes to office supplies,” Murray concluded.