atula asks:Is it possible to recycle old ball pens?

Granted they were designed to be thrown away...but there should be some way to recycle them.

It is a good thing to dream abou t but it will take lot of efforts from everyone..but yes..not that we cannot try....

these suggestions..

http://www.world.org/reuse/pens

or make a chandelier like these clever souls..

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/01/10/bic-ballpoint-pen-chandelier/

long time no see, and I am totally with you on that last comment!

Surely though using them as ballast would only mean large lumps of used ballpen would eventually end up scattered around the planet?

But that might create stratospheric pollution, I suppose. We might try stacking them neatly (seriously) in, say, 50 cubic metre sealed containers that would be opened in the future as new ideas generate new uses. We have done the math, and we believe as many as 463 billion Bic-type ballpens could be stored in as few as twelve such containers. A small price to pay for the satisfaction of knowing we have put the problem onto our grand-children!