One small pen can make a big difference, but when discarded, it can become an environmental menace.

A Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report states that 1,600 to 2,400 million pens make it to the market and 91% of plastic waste generated from those remains unrecycled.

This problem captured the attention of Saurabh Mehta when he decided to join his family business of making ballpoint pens.

“In a world where everyday people are trying to be more eco-friendly, I realised that my heart would never allow me to do this,” he says.

Saurabh points out that 95% of a pen is composed of non-biodegradable materials, primarily plastic and metal mixtures. Most of these can’t be disassembled and recycled.

“This amplifies the problem. With an annual production volume of 50 billion pens, all of this plastic waste cannot be recycled and won’t biodegrade,” he says.

The plastic pen problem is as bad as plastic straws, bags and bottles, he adds.

From 2018 to 2020, Saurabh experimented with various biodegradable materials and ways to replace plastic. The aim was to ensure that the pen must have 18 months shelf life.

“Some efforts reduced the plastic content in pens by 50, 70, or even 88 percent, but plastic was still present. Tests showed that even pens with paper bodies and plastic cores acted like laminated paper cups, preventing full biodegradability,” Saurabh says.

Eventually, Saurabh would find the perfect solution — pens made of recycled paper and vegetable oil; this led to the creation of NOTE (No Offence To Earth).

NOTE’s zero plastic pen is 100 percent biodegradable, uses a paper refill, and is priced between Rs 30 and Rs 300.

“I believe that if there is an alternative available for people to use, they will opt for it. While a pen might sound like a small thing, if you look at the bigger picture, even small efforts matter,” Saurabh says.