Donna Plomchok and her 8-year-old daughter, Abigail, have a unique interest in recycling. Since last fall, they have been making new crayons out of used ones then donating the recycled crayons for other children to enjoy.

Melted down and molded into dozens of shapes — ranging from cats to butterflies to blocks — hundreds of multicolored crayons have been donated to groups including Water Street Mission, Children and Youth Social Service Agency, Providence Elementary School and the Quarryville Library, Plomchok said. Some even went to an orphanage in the Middle East.

The Plomchoks, of southern Lancaster County, will be displaying and discussing their recycled crayons Saturday at the Quarryville Library as part of its Earth Day activities from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Abigail will also be collecting old crayons.

"This is such a creative way to recycle, because so many restaurants are throwing crayons out," library director Fran Vita said. The creations "drew lots of attention" in January when they were featured in the library's monthly community showcase, she added. "I only wish we could have kept them (displayed) longer. The children thought they were really neat. Abigail also donated some for our writing center, and they were so appealing to the kids that they're all gone already."

Donna Plomchok credits her daughter for the recycling idea. After eating at an Isaac's Restaurant, the then-7-year-old asked what happened to the crayons on the tables.

"They were just thrown out," Abigail recalled. She knew her mother made soap and candles from molds and suggested melting the crayons down for reuse. "I thought all different shapes were interesting. Sometimes kids run out of crayons. And it's fun to make them."

When Isaac's steadily began donating hundreds of used crayons, Abigail enlisted several friends to help make and sell the recycled ones for donations. In addition to giving her crayons away, Abigail markets them at cooperating businesses such as The Blossom Shop at Mussers at the Buck. The Plomchoks even sell them on eBay for $1.

The small donations they get help pay for the silicon crayon molds. Donations also go toward buying food and medicines for another pet project of the family — caring for many stray and feral cats who roam their rural property.

"Abi wanted to donate her crayons to other children," Plomchok said, after they discussed homeless families in a home-schooling lesson. "It was her idea to sell them on the computer" and put the money toward the estimated $100 a week they spend supporting homeless cats.

"Abi learns a lot from all this," Plomchok added, "like compassion and understanding that there are people who aren't as fortunate as her." The enterprise also teaches math, art, problem-solving, marketing, business ethics and "taking responsibility for the earth (and) for each other, including animals," she said.

Providence Elementary School fifth-grade teacher Rebecca Gajecki thought Abigail's recycling initiative could teach other children, too. She ran a schoolwide contest in January, collecting 308 pounds of old crayons. In turn, Abigail gave recycled crayons to every student in the winning class.

"It's a great idea to recycle crayons," Gajecki said, "because it's something kids see every day and can understand."

But for Plomchok, the value of recycling crayons also extends to teaching her daughter more subtle lessons about animal welfare.

Plomchok estimates that 50 to 80 cats, most of them abandoned pets, live on their four-acre property and 85 surrounding acres. The family has humanely trapped, neutered and returned to the outdoors 89 cats in the past several years. They continue to provide daily food, water and shelter for the cats, following guidelines of a nationwide feral cat protection process known as TNR.

"Abi goes right along with me or does it herself when I'm busy, putting out 20 pounds of dry food a day and four large cans of wet food," Plomchok said. "Some of the cats let us touch them and some don't, but Abi has named most all of them."

Now the family is converting donated wooden boxes into outside cat houses, not only for the colony they tend but also to give to other organizations which help feral cats.

"These cats came to us because someone else had them and didn't want them anymore," Plomchok said. "These animals did not choose to adopt an uncaring family and then be abandoned. We feel we are doing the responsible thing by caring for them and not making them someone else's problem. If everyone took responsibility for their space on this planet, the world would be a better place."

Abigail has reached a similar conclusion. "Doing good things is a good thing," she explained.

You can donate

The public can donate used crayons for Abigail's artistic recycling by dropping them in a special crayon bank at the Quarryville Library or by contacting the Plomchoks at AbigailsCrayons@aol.com.

Abigail's crayons are available at the following eBay link: stores.shop.ebay.com/Abigails-Recycled-Crayons.