BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — With the back-to-school season right around the corner, there is a new drive surrounding a staple item on many shopping lists, crayons.
New York State Assemblymember Jon Rivera has announced that his office is collecting unwanted and unused crayons in an effort to support the National Crayon Recycle Program.
"We know as parents that we collect a lot of crayons, I know my 4-year-old has a box full of them," Assemblymember Rivera told 7 News. "Once you get past a certain point you end up tossing them. They end up existing in landfills for way too long, and nothing ever happens to them."
So Rivera has set up "Crayon Drop Boxes" at four different locations in an effort to collect unwanted or broken crayons that will then be recycled and put back into the hands of students.
"Anything we can do in the community to relieve the burden for parents and do as much as we can to reduce our waste, it's a win-win for everybody," said Assemblymember Rivera.
Collection boxes for the Crayon Drive have been set up at:
- Buffalo Office of Assemblymember Rivera - 65 Grant Street., Buffalo, NY 14213
- Hamburg Office of Assemblymember Rivera - 40 Main St., Lower Back Entrance, Hamburg, NY 14075
- Village of Hamburg Youth Center - 258-192 Prospect Ave., Hamburg, NY 14075
- The Belle Center, 104 Maryland St., Buffalo, NY 14201
"I think it's awesome," said Lucy Candelario, Executive Director of The Belle Center, one of the collection centers. "I think it's a win-win on both parts. We get to help out the children by teaching them to recycle, the environment, and receiving new crayons, why not?"
The collected crayons will be recycled into new ones by the National Crayon Recycle Program which reports that more than 60 million crayons are discarded each year adding up to more than 500,000 pounds of won't decompose.
Those interested can drop off crayon donations between August 21st and the end of the month.
