How to Recycle Crayons

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

17 Apr 2009 10:51 AM

Did you know that when crayons are tossed out in the garbage, they can spend almost an eternity in a landfill? Who knew that such a little think could contribute to the trash on our planet? As a household with three young children, crayons are everywhere. There are the broken ones, the ones that are of unpopular colors and the ones that get replaced when a gift of a new box of well-dressed crayons appears. Ah, it is that new crayon smell that no one can resist.

There are several ways that you can recycle crayons and keep them out of the landfill or at least reduce the amount of crayons that you contribute to it. Keep these ideas in mind when you are contemplating tossing out old and unwanted crayons. It is just another way to go green in your home.

Fill an empty diaper wipes container or shoe box with unwanted crayons. Then donate the box, along with some coloring books to a homeless shelter, a local school, a hospital or a doctor's office. Even nursing homes are a good place to donate old crayons, since coloring can be a form of expression and a relaxing activity for the residents.

Melt the unwanted crayons down to new and more fun crayons. Crayola makes a crayon maker for kids that does just this, forming the crayons into molds of alligators, cars or just regular crayons. When I was a child, we would make our own crayons or even jewelry by placing broken bits into the lid of a jar and placing in on the stove over the pilot light (with the stove closed and the burner off, of course). This would slowly melt the crayons a new creation in the lid.

Send the unwanted crayons to a crayon recycling program. Yes, this program actually does exist. It is called crazy crayons, and you can learn more about it at crazycrayons.com

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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