On Small Scale Sustainability

at the Desk

As much as anything else, this is a hope for harvesting some ideas.

I have a few, on the subject of how to make the day-to-day practice of writing more environmentally friendly, but I want to hear your thoughts.

My means are limited, and I’ve tried to limit them a little more.

I tend to write in notebooks, and, where possible, on recycled or post-consumer waste paper.

This means that, at least some of the time, I am not staring at a big glowing electricity-consuming screen whilst doing my draft zero.

The next draft involves typing this up onto the computer, and subsequent drafts are either within Word for Mac or on recycled paper printouts.

I could stop the creation of physical copies, and have for certain novels, but I hate writing entirely on desk- or laptop.

Perhaps I should look into offsetting some of that electricity use.

The main thing I’ve changed is writing implements.

As far as possible, I no longer use disposable biros, felt tips and roller-balls.

Obviously, this is because they are plastic and single use. (I make an exception for pens I find in the street, or otherwise lying around. These, in my experience, are often some of the flowingest. Because they’d otherwise be chucked, I think they’re worth putting to work.)

My go-to writing implement, for years, was the uni-ball UB-157 Eye Rollerball Pen. Sometimes 0.5mm, but usually 0.7.

Always black.

I would keep one of these in my pocket, along with a small black hard cover Moleskine notebook.

For variety, I sometimes used a MUJI 0.5mm Gel Ink Ballpoint. I always intended to buy refills for these, but perhaps only succeeded once or twice.

Of course, I could have bought the refills with the pens, but that seemed to be breaking some superstitious rule I’d set myself. Until you’ve used the ink up by doing writing, you can’t presume to buy more.

I have shifted, as far as possible, to using fountain pens with convertors. These pens, too, are mostly made of plastic — and the cheaper ones do break — but in order to keep them flowing all I need do is buy bottles of black ink.

My poshest pen is a birthday present Mont Blanc, chunky enough to remind me of Seamus Heaney’s opening lines —

     Between my finger and my thumb

     The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.

But it’s not an everyday pen. I am too scared of losing it to carry it around in a pocket. The ink comes out too wide for writing between the lines.

So it’s to one of my two Pilot pens that I usually go.

The first is a black Pilot MR Metropolitan. This works now but it took ages to break in. The trick seems to be, only filling it with Pilot ink. And using it even when it’s scratchy.

The other everyday is a Pilot Kaküno — which is a lot more fun, and I think was designed for Japanese schoolchildren. I’ve mislaid and replaced one of these.

A pen I’ve had, lost, and not gone for again, was a black Retro fountain pen from Choosing Keeping. If ever there’s a temptation to stationery consumption, it’s this lovely shop in Covent Garden.

I generally go for replacements only.

My most recent pen is a green (or eau de nil) Kaweco Skyline.

I was in Brighton, and accidentally visited the wonderful Pen to Paper, and thought it polite to try a few fountain pens I’d been curious about.

In the end, I made them an offer and bought the display pen. This isn’t exactly recyling, but it wasn’t new. That’s my excuse.

I’m not intending to buy any more pens unless these break down.

As for pencils, I’ve again tried to move to mechanical pencils I can refill with leads rather than fill my bin with shavings.

The problem here is that replacement leads tend to come in small numbers in unnecessary plastic boxes. Kaweco, Rotring, LAMY — they’re all pretty awful.

MUJI supply 2B 0.5mm pencil lead refills in cardboard tubes. That is my workaround.

But I’ve found that mechanical pencils don’t have long lives.

I’m not sure whether it’s genuinely less impactful to use them, rather than natural wooden pencils.

I have one mechanical pencil, also from MUJI, that’s still going.

Much more obscure than this is a Penkala I was given decades ago in Croatia, where it originated. It’s a reproduction of the earliest mechanical pencil in the world.

This has probably come across as more sell-y than I intended.

I also use my German Lyra pencil extenders. Put the stubs into them, keep them in use for months. These are a strong recommendation. Everyone should have them around.

My other environmental impacts are probably worse, though I’m avoiding flying, but because we’re here as writers, we had best look at what’s in our hands.

And the printing, distributing, warehousing and whole economy of paper books is a whole other subject.

What are your ideas, suggestions, tips?