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Zero Waste—Upcycled Crayons

Date
Apr, 08, 2020

If you have kids, chances are you also have a stash of broken and /or old crayons. Most people, I assume, throw them out, so tons of non-biodegradable crayons end up in landfills every year. The problem with this is that wax from crayons will never break down. Instead, the crayons leave waxy waste in our landfills for centuries to come.

The other problem with throwing out crayons is that, as most parents know, art supplies aren’t cheap. A much better option to trashing them is upcycling them and turning them into … new crayons.

Here a YouTube video of my family making crayons:

Making crayons from old broken ones is super easy, better for the planet, zero waste, fast and really fun for the kids to do.

For this project, you will need these supplies:

  • Broken and old crayons
  • Flexible molds or muffin papers
  • Cookie sheet

For the molds, you can use fun different shapes such as hearts, etc. You can buy cheap silicon molds at Ikea.

Directions:

  1. Remove the paper around crayons by either just picking it off or slicing sideways over the paper with a sharp knife. This step is best for adults to perform.
  2. Preheat oven for F250.
  3. Chop the nubs into small pieces.
  4. Put pieces into molds. You can either mix colors for a fun tie-dye effect or sort crayons into colors.
  5. Place mold on a cookie sheet and place in oven until crayons melt, about 15-20 minutes.
  6. Let cool completely before carefully removing from molds.

Fredrika Syren

Fredrika Syren is an environmental activist and writer. In 2016, she founded the website Green-Mom.com where she shared her family’s journey of living zero waste. She lives in San Diego, California with her husband James and their children Bella, Noah, and Liam. Fredrika and her family were recently featured in the documentary Zero Time to Waste. Fredrika is also the author of Zero Waste for Families - A Practical Guidebook (which you can buy on this site)

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