Crayola’s ColorCycle Program brings marker recycling to schools across the country.

Here’s another example of the growing emphasis on recycling and cradle-to-cradle thinking at the teen level with Crayola’s latest program for schools to recycle markers into clean energy.

Through a partnership with JBI, Inc., a recycling and energy company, Crayola is announcing to all schools K-12 in the United States to recycle markers through a school collection called ColorCycle. The markers are then sent to JBI where they are used as feedstock to create liquid fuels, according to a recent report by Sustainable Brands. The process is proprietary to JBI called Plastic2Oil or P2O.

According to JBI’s CEO Tony Bogolin, “We are extremely pleased to partner with Crayola. By introducing this program, Crayola continues to prove to be a leader, not only in its industry, but also in worldwide waste reduction ethics and social responsibility.”

“At JBI, we are committed to environmental sustainability by diverting plastic waste from landfills and potential incineration,” said John Bordynuik, Chief of Technology and founder of JBI. “Partnering with Crayola is a unique opportunity for our company, and we look forward to a relationship that reduces the amount of plastic entering landfills, while also creating cleaner, lower-sulphur fuels.”

Schools and teachers can sign-up for the Crayola ColorCycle program here.

For more information about youth culture and Sustainability, check-out our latest study, “Sustainability and the State of the Future Youth Culture Study 2013.”