If you know an educator or are one yourself, Crayola has a great recycling program designed just for you. The Crayola ColorCycle program, in partnership with JBI, Inc., was launch in August of 2013. The program takes used markers from schools (K – 12) at the end of the school year and converts them into liquid fuel. It’s a great program for a product that is typically hard to recycle.

Even if you aren’t a teacher, if your kiddos are in school, this program is definitely worth bringing up at your next PTA meeting.

Here’s how it works:

1. Find out who in your school community would make decisions about getting involved in a recycle program then take the information about the Crayola ColorCycle program to them.
2. Set up a collection site at your school. Collect all your used Crayola markers during the school year (the program also accepts non-Crayola markers).
3. At the end of the school year, pack the used markers in a cardboard box (with minimal outer markings). Print out a shipping label from Crayola – the shipping is on them.
4. Ship to Crayola via FedEx Ground.

Then what happens?

Basically, the waste plastic is melted down into a liquid plastic. That liquid plastic is then converted into synthetic fuel. For example, 600 pounds of markers will yield 60 gallons of fuel.

Just a reminder from Crayola, the program is only open to schools in the “contiguous 48 United States and some areas in Canada.” Individual Crayola customers can’t send markers directly to Crayola but you could start a program at your school and bring your markers there.