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Crayon Recycling

October 8, 2009 By 9 Comments



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Stockmar Wax CrayonsLast night I stayed up way too late trying to get read the hundred blogs I subscribe to via RSS and answer all of the emails.  I read every post possible,  all the emails and I try to get to each blog and leave comments, but it is getting harder. I did delete an email by a reader asking a question about what to get someone and I feel awful about it – woops and sorry! =(
Lots of going green blogs out there! Go moms! My Greening: Going Green, wrote about recycling crayons to make candles. How clever. As a long time preschool teacher the recycling of crayons and markers has become common practice for me. Here is what I do:

~Grab an old muffin tin and preheat my oven to 150 degrees.
~I have my little guy peel all the old broken crayons and I cut them up.
~We randomly put them into the muffin tins because we like the rainbow colors.

~Bake for 15 or so minutes (you’ll see that they all melt together).
~Let the crayons and muffin tin cool and then pop out your new crayons. You can keep doing this over and over! No need to throw crayons in the garbage, ever! Great for chubby hands and fingers!

When the markers all dry up we use them for painting. The kids stick the markers in water cups and they’re suddenly water color paint brushes. It’s fun and a great way to make the most of those markers.

So thanks, My Greening: Going Green, for this crayon recycling reminder. A great Earth Day project and everyday project to do with the kids! Personally we love the  Stockmar block crayons from Natural Pod and their vibrancy so give them a try!




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  • Michelle

    We got some of the melted crayons in our Valentine’s box this year — shaped like hearts even. Totally loved it (I’m not a big candy fan). I didn’t know the trick with the markers, but we’re totally doing this as someone in the house who shall remain nameless but is 2 years old tends to not snap the tops back on all the way and daddies don’t always pay attention to this, so we’ve been throwing away a bunch of pretty much brand new markers lately. Way cool!

  • CanCan

    Hey, thanks for the Green Mom shout-out. I am a teacher as well so I think I have a special section in my mind that helps me look at old junk and see the craft possibilities.
    Soon I will share how I took a headless stuffed toy and an unmatched sock and turned it into a puppet. :)

  • http://www.cookingupafamily.com Courtney

    thats great you still try and comment, it seems to be slowly going away!!

    I had no idea that you could do that with markers! awesome tip!
    .-= Courtney´s last blog ..Addicting Maple Iced Pumpkin Cookies! =-.

  • http://condo-blues.blogspot.com Condo Blues

    I know a couple of people who are doing this and giving them out for Halloween this year instead of candy.
    .-= Condo Blues´s last blog ..Porch Chair Revamp Take 2 =-.

  • http://www.gypsychild.org Jeanie

    I am often getting to bed way to late for my health, spending the time reading blogs or researching and writing. I want a magic spell that will force me to go to bed and get the proper sleep. I also want 48 hrs in a day.
    Love the shaped crayons for Halloween. Do you blend the colors together? Tye-Dye crayons, sounds like a new home business to me.
    .-= Jeanie´s last blog ..Got Milk? =-.

  • Monica

    I loved the tip for recycling crayons. I can’t believe I never heard of this before!! Can’t wait to try it. Thanks!

  • Pingback: Don’t throw that crayon away! : Green and Clean Mom ™

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  • Dutchiamx

    Hi greenandcleanmom,

    Thank you for the post. Love the idea recycling crayons. Have two kids that loves drawing whatever things they found interesting but they throw a lot of crayons when they can hardly hold them.

    Will try to introduce them with your tips and hopefully they found it fun and save some of my money.

    -Angella Wilson
    My Last Blog Post Revitol Stretch Mark Cream Review