a crazy-good idea...

i stumbled across something new today while browsing around at elephant pharmacy: a crayon recycling program. what a great, eco-conscious idea for getting rid of broken and itty-bitty leftover crayon nubs alike. elephant pharmacy has a donation box--which happened to be overflowing--and it seems they ship them off to an organization called crazy crayons. this crayon recycling program takes "old, rejected, broken crayons to a better place, where they'll be recycled into fresh, new crayons."

check out their website--these aren't your standard crayolas! recycled crayons take on brand-new shapes, including butterflies, firemen, numbers & letters, fruits, fish, hearts and more. 34,000 pounds of crayons have been recycled through crazy crayons since april of 1993, when the program first began, and all profits of newly created crayons help to keep the program running. wax-coated crayon wrappers are turned into firestarters, which are also available for purchase on the website.

since crayons are petroleum-based, they sit for ages in a landfill once tossed. having tossed many crayons myself in my nannying years, i'd never given them a second thought. but even the littlest things add up. plus, this is a great way to get kids excited about and connected to recycling. how great would it be for elementary schools to have a "broken crayon drive?"

of course, lucy's not coloring just yet. she's still simply in awe that she can get those fingers to move all on her own. but i'll for sure be donating to this program at some point, and hopefully purchasing a few crazy crayons for lucy to enjoy. and speaking of alternative art supplies, check out these soy-based crayon rocks. eco-friendly, cute and functional, all in one. gotta love it.