Ever wonder what to do with those loads of crayons your kids have outgrown? Here is one resource that we just found out about in our local East Bay Monthly magazine: TheCrayonInitiative.Org

Bryan Ware, founder, rescues crayons from the waste stream  (about 75,000 pounds of crayons are disposed of per year) melts them down into basic color groups, creates easier-to-handle new crayons and distributes them to hospitals and schools for free.

It is a labor of love fueled by the desire to keep things out of the landfill that could be transformed into something useful.

Wanna help the cause? Bryan offers 4 ways on his website:

Collect

get a bin or box –>put a sticker on it–>collect used crayons at your school/church/local restaurant–>package them up in a flat rate USPS box and –>send them to: The Crayon Initiative, 540 Glasgow Circle, Danville, CA  94526

Sort

get involved in a sorting event – if you’re in the SF Bay area email: volunteers@thecrayoninitiative.org and/or join the Facebook group to find out about sorting events

Spread the Word

Tweet, post, tell your friends

Donate

The Crayon Initiative is a 501(c)(3) that is fully funded by donations of cash and crayons from folks like you.

Now you can get those bins of used unneeded crayons from your grown children’s rooms and ship them off to a new life!