Great Green Idea: Green Products: Recycling and Reusing Candles

Recycling and Reusing Candles

Recycling and reusing candles can be a wonderful green living project for children. Learning basic recycling techniques along with creative ways to form new candles can be done as a family project. Old candles can be changed into new, reusable candles.

Collecting Old Candles

Old candles can be collected from home and other family members. Candles should be clean and wick materials removed. Candles should be sorted by scents as well as basic color groups. If you have unscented candles, they can be placed in a separate group as well.

Materials Needed

Materials needed, in addition to old candle wax, include a melting pot or candle maker, new wicks, fragrance oil and votives or candle holders. Fresh new wax may be added to old wax during melting. If creating candles using a melting pot, a thermometer will be needed.

If using a candle maker, it is simply plugged into an electrical outlet when ready to begin the melting process. A candle maker will require more time for the wax to melt. Melting pots are placed on a heat source during the melting procedure. Once wax is melted the temperature will rise very rapidly.

Safety Guidelines

Safety guidelines should be followed when melting and working with hot wax. Always have a fire extinguisher available if needed. Constant supervision of children during the melting process is a must. If melting wax in a melting pot, using an electric source is best. The temperature of the wax should not exceed 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

Creative Additions

When making new candles from old wax, various materials can be added to make creative displays. Imaginative items are especially designed for candle additions. They include goldfish shapes, stars, squares, glass beads as well as a variety of other shapes. These are placed into the container before or during the pouring of hot wax.

New fragrance oils of choice can also be added to recycled candle wax to add a fresh, new scent. A wide variety of natural oils are available on the market including floral scents, citrus scents, woodsy and natural scents.

Green Living Lessons

While making candles from old candle wax green living lessons can be incorporated into the learning experience. Recycling is a part of life and it can save resources used within the environment. You can also talk to your children about how waste is decreased by recycling products within the community.

For older children, cost savings comparisons can be made. Compare the cost of buying new candles to the cost of consistently recycling old wax to make new ones. The family can discuss other ways to recycle and reuse products and how it will impact the community. Further discussion can include how the world would be impacted when a large number of families participate in recycling and reusing a large number of items, therefore creating a global impact.