Home Crayon Recycling

I remember having crayons as a kid - I even remember how they taste; it's just something you don't forget :).

I also remember the amount of crayon remnants that used to accumulate - and would just be thrown out.

Recycling crayons isn't going to save the environment by any means; but it's just a little less garbage winding up in landfill, can save you money and can help teach your children the value (and fun) in recycling. It's also recycling in it's truest sense - taking the waste from something and turning it into more of the same original product.

There's all sorts of ways you can recycle crayons; but here's a popular and very simple way to do it:

Remove any paper wrapping and cut up the crayons into small pieces
Grab an old muffin or cookie tray
Preheat your oven to 150-200F (around 65-90C). You don't want the oven too hot as you could wind up with a smelly, smokey mess - or a fire.
Add the crayons to the tray/tin. Group colors together to prevent mixing
Place in the oven
After around 5-10 minutes, the crayons should start melting, so keep a close eye on progress
Once fully melted, remove and allow to cool
If you're using a cookie tray, while the wax is cooling, you may want to score the wax into the sizes you wish
Another way to go about it is to place crayon pieces into cut-down soda cans and place into a saucepan with water in the bottom. Heat the water and let simmer until the wax is melted, then pour into molds such as ice cube trays or chocolate molds.

Get the kids involved or even just observing; they would probably find the process quite interesting - but of course the usual safety warnings apply when working with anything hot or sharp.

I think exercises like these can also help train children to develop a recycling and reuse mindset. Instead of thinking "this is junk", they'll start thinking a little more along the lines of "what can I do with this?".

Beeswax crayons

Crayons were once made with beeswax, but these days are usually made with paraffin. Paraffin is derived from fossil fuels. If you're particularly adventurous and would like to make more environmentally friendly crayons for your children, all you'll need is beeswax, some soap and food coloring. Beeswax isn't all that expensive - I've seen it advertised for around $15 a pound, which could make quite a few crayons.

Making beeswax crayons could even be a nice little cottage industry for enterprising folks!

BEESWAX CRAYON RECIPE

Things You'll Need:
1 part beeswax
1 part soap, grated (Glycerin works for harder crayons. Commercial bar soaps work for softer ones).
paste food coloring (found in the cake decorating aisle)
Soup cans
Large pot
Small candy molds or cookie cutters
Wax paper
Potholders
Vegetable oil

Fill the pot with water about halfway up. Boil water in the pot.

Place the beeswax in a soup can and place the can in the boiling water.

Once the beeswax is melted, add grated soap. Stir until the soap melts and the mixture is smooth.

Add paste food coloring until you have the color you desire.

Coat your molds with a thin layer of vegetable oil. If you use cookie cutters, put them on a piece of wax paper on a flat surface.

Using pot holders to lift the can from the water, carefully pour the mixture into your molds. For cookie cutters, make sure to hold the cutters steady while you pour. Quickly place a heavy object such as a book on top of the cutter (if possible depending on the shape of the cutter) to ensure that the mixture doesn't leak out of the sides.

Allow the molds to cool. When they are cool to the touch, gently remove the hardened crayons. Then start coloring!