Recycle Old Crayons

Every feel a slight twinge of guilt throwing out those old crayon stubs?
If your answer is yes, you can recycle those stubs. A preschool teacher of my daughter told me how to do this years ago, but I've never really encountered the "Crayon Stub Problem" until this year.





Do this in a well-ventilated area, preferably under a range top hood vent:


Don't boil the crayons - just melt them.


I played around with the colors. I find that if you use monochromatic colors, the crayons come out prettier. For example, you can group together oranges and reds, and blues and purples.
That way, you won't be stuck with murky brown crayons.

Also, if you are worried about toxic fumes, stick to melting Crayola brand crayons.

I did a little bit of research before melting the crayons, looking at the Material Safety Data Sheet of Crayola Crayons. This little tidbit was from the data sheet
Thermal decomposition products:
May release oxides of carbon. Provide adult supervision a well ventilated in area for techniques involving melted crayons. lroning should be done by an adult in a well ventilated area. Overheating wax crayons during melting or ironing may release irritating fumes.

In other words, don't overheat or boil the crayons and make sure this is done in a well-ventilated area.

More on recycling crayons:

• Danny Seo has a great idea using cookie cutters, if you have a lot of crayons to recycle.
• Mrs Suzie Homemaker recycles crayons using mini muffin tins - another great idea!
  


• I Wonder Woman's yummy looking technicolor peanut butter cuos!