Have you got a desk full of crappy pens destined for the landfill?  Well, today, Newell Rubbermaid announced its Paper Mate brand is helping to make the everyday writing experience a little greener with the introduction of Paper Mate Biodegradable – the first widely available line of pens and mechanical pencils made with a majority of biodegradable components, which break down in soil, or home compost in about a year.

Paper Mate’s Biodegradable products look and feel like conventional plastic, but their compostable components are a bio-plastic made from plant-derived sugar, an annually renewable resource.  When disassembled and placed in yard soil or home compost they decompose in about a year, increasing compost and reducing waste.  Additionally, the products are packaged in 100-percent PVC-free recyclable material.