Crayons

Do you remember getting a new box of Crayola crayons as a child? Maybe an 8 pack... or a 24 pack... or a 48 pack!! Remember the excitement! Remember the blast of creativity? Remember openning the box and being awed by the array of beautiful colours? You couldn't wait to take them out of the box and use them! So smooth, so clean, so sharp, so beautiful!

What are crayons made of? I always thought they were made of wax. Well yes and no. They are made from paraffin wax, not beeswax (which I think of as "wax"). Paraffin wax is a petroleum product. So, basically crayons are made from oil... with some colour added.

How many crayons are sold in a year? Millions! How many crayons are thrown away in a year because they are old or broken or melted or "not good enough". Again... millions! What do all those discarded petroleum-based crayons do to our environment? Good questions... we don't really know!

Couldn't we do something with old crayons? Other than shaving them onto wax paper and making cute little pictures... which will ultimately end up in the garbage too at some point? Well... how about recycling crayons?? Think of all the schools that use crayons... all of the kids that use crayons... What if we could gather all those little bits of used crayons and make... new crayons! Sounds like a pretty brilliant idea. Crayola might not be too keen on it, as they sell new crayons...

Take a look at Crazy Crayons... they do just that... recycle old crayons into new crayons... They take the wrappers off and then sell them as "fire starter"... they melt down the old crayons and then make new crayons. Their only request is that you only send Norther American crayons, as Chinese made ones (Dollar Store brands) may have lead and/or plastic in them (gives you pause if you have little kids!). You could organize a box in your school... or your home... or your day care... for all those busted crayons. Don't even have to remove the wrapping (easier for them to ID colours later)... Check them out!