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Re:Mathematicians Are Hoarding a Type of Japanese Chalk by moultano on Monday June 15, 2015 @11:31PM (#9723655)
That's a strange phenomena. People don't seem to think of whiteboard markers as disposable things. If one isn't writing they think it either needs to be fixed, or that they aren't using it correctly and it might resume writing later. I've tried to fight this by ostentatiously throwing them immediately in the trash the first time they stop writing, and it seems to be catching. I don't encounter nearly as many empty ones as I used to.
Re:Mathematicians Are Hoarding a Type of Japanese Chalk by untog on Monday June 15, 2015 @11:50PM (#9723710)
The problem is likely that there aren't spares available. For some reason companies are notorious for locking up whiteboard pens and only giving new ones when you've signed some obscure form in triplicate.
Re:Mathematicians Are Hoarding a Type of Japanese Chalk by anigbrowl on Tuesday June 16, 2015 @12:12AM (#9723777)
I feel irrationally responsible. I used to steal them out of the stationary cupboard in high school during the 1980s and give them away to anyone who wanted some, and was surprised at how popular they were with other students. At the time I thought that either everyone else liked art class as much as I did, or that perhaps some of them were using them for graffiti, but some years later it dawned on me that they provided a relatively safe way to abuse solvents :-.
Re:Mathematicians Are Hoarding a Type of Japanese Chalk by ams6110 on Tuesday June 16, 2015 @11:45AM (#9726611)
Just need a small green bin with the "chasing arrow" logo marked "marker recycling."

Then at night the custodians will just tip it into the trash as they do with most recycling containers now.

Re:Mathematicians Are Hoarding a Type of Japanese Chalk by pbhjpbhj on Tuesday June 16, 2015 @07:45AM (#9725078)
> People don't seem to think of whiteboard markers as disposable things. //

Perhaps that's because they're usually refillable - the writing tip lasts much longer than the ink supply.