Boy Scout Bear Nikitchyuk, of Troop 770, is embarking on a colorful conservation project to help reduce crayons ending up in landfills.

The environmentally conscious 15-year-old is seeking broken, used, and unwanted crayons, so he can recycle the pieces and turn them into usable crayon disks to be donated to a children’s program in need.

“Most crayons are made from paraffin, which is a petroleum by-product,” Bear explained.

The component prevents crayons from being able to biodegrade and, as a result, leads to 45,000 to 75,000 pounds of crayons building up in landfills each year.

Bear was inspired to spearhead his recycling project for the Boy Scout’s William T. Hornaday Awards, which recognizes Boy Scouts making significant contributions towards natural resource conservation and environmental protection.

“The Hornaday Awards that I am working on require up to four different Eagle-scope projects in specific categories, and resource recovery is one of them,” Bear said.

According to Boy Scouts of America, “The fundamental purpose of the Hornaday Awards program is to encourage learning by the participants and to increase public awareness about natural resource conservation. Understanding and practicing sound stewardship of natural resources and environmental protection strengthens Scouting’s emphasis on respecting the outdoors.”

While Bear has not melted crayons before, the process is similar to his experience as a beekeeper in that he has worked harvesting beeswax and constructed it into products like candles and lip balm.

“Crayons can be melted slowly over low heat and put into molds to cool in new shapes.” Bear said.

The process allows for each crayon disk to be customized for a unique coloring experience. Depending on the crayons selected to be melted, the final creation could be one solid color, a few colors, or even a rainbow of all different colors in one hand-held disk.

For those interested in supporting Bear’s initiative, crayons of any size or brand (with or without its paper label attached) can be dropped off in designated blue donation boxes located in town at the C.H. Booth Library’s back entrance, outside the First Selectman’s office at the Municipal Center, at The Newtown Bee's office, at Reed Intermediate School’s front office, and in each of the Newtown elementary school front offices. There will also be a box at the Brookfield Library.

The blue donation boxes, which were created by the online company Displays2Go with a Scout discount for Bear, will be checked routinely, and donations will be accepted until the end of September.

For more information about the Hornaday Awards, visit scouting.org/awards/hornaday-awards.