Kid's Crafts: How to Make New Recycled Crayons from Broken Ones

Instead of throwing away all the broken and worn down bits of crayons, make new ones and recycle all those crayon pieces. These recycled crayons are easy and fun to make. Kids can create their own color combinations and crayon color names. Not only are these recycled crayons fun to make but they teach kids about color combinations, teach them another way to recycle and give them a useful project that they can use after making the new recycled crayons.

Supplies needed for recycled crayons:

Broken crayons in any or all colors

Metal cupcake baking pans (Small or regular size muffins)

Non-stick cooking spray

Oven mitt

Toothpicks

Foil cupcake baking pan liners

Shaped candy molds (optional)

Directions for recycled crayons:

Peel all the paper labels off the broken crayons and crayon bits, if there is any still left on them.

Spray nonstick cooking spray in each cup of the metal cupcake baking pans. You can use the cupcake baking pans that make small cupcakes or regular sized cupcakes. Either work fine to make the recycled crayons.

Sort the crayons into color piles. If you have a lot of broken pieces and a group of children are making these recycled crayons this makes the project a little easier with a group of children. This is a great project for a daycare center, preschool or school recycling, since large numbers of crayons are used there.

Put the broken pieces into the cupcake baking pans. Let the kids create any color combinations they like or keep them all one color. They can give them fun names like strawberry orange, or sunset sky, whatever appeals to them.

Preheat the oven to 275 F or 135 C.

Place the cupcake pans with the broken crayons in the oven and heat until melted. (This takes about 7 to 14 minutes. The larger ones take a little longer to melt and the cupcake foil lined ones take longer to melt too.)

Remove the cupcake pans from the oven.

Use the toothpicks and stir the melted crayons in the cupcake pans while they are still soft. Make them swirly looking. Then leave them to cool for a few minutes.

Place the cupcake pans in the freezer so the melted crayons can cool and form. Let them harden in the freezer for about an hour.

Remove the pans or candy molds from the freezer. The non-stick spray will make them easier to remove from the baking pans. Pop the new round recycled crayons out of the muffin tins.

Another option is to melt the broken crayons in paper foil cupcake liners placed in the cupcake pans. Carefully remove the foil liners with the melted crayon inside. Pour the melted broken crayons into sprayed candy molds about ¾ full. Let them cool in the freezer. Then remove them by popping them out.

Now the new recycled crayons are ready to use to start coloring with again.