Visit any restaurant with a children’s menu and it’s likely you’ll see crayons scattered across tables that will be disposed of after a single day’s use.
While they’re hardly a major source of pollution, crayons aren’t great for the environment. Most are made from paraffin wax, a substance you might find in beauty products and a byproduct of crude oil or petroleum. They don’t biodegrade, meaning they’ll remain in landfills for years to come.
Luckily, crayons can be easily repurposed to reduce waste and donated to a good cause. Instead of throwing those broken or used crayons away, try donating them to programs like the Pencils Community, which will accept new, used and discarded pencils, crayons and other stationary.
If you want to make an impact locally, you should also do an online search for shelters, hospitals, schools or other facilities near you that accept crayons.
If you have lots of broken crayons lying around, you can even reuse them yourself by melting them down and pouring them into molds or muffin tins.
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