I often end up with “bad wax”: the dark brood nest wax, full of pupa skins and bee parts. What to do with it? It’s useless for candles and cosmetics. In these small quantities, it’s too little gain for the hassle to melt it down and filter it. And I can’t throw it on my compost because it will met and smother it.
At the Farmers Market on Wednesday a woman and her daughter approached me to ask about the wax. They are glass blowers and were wondering if we had any wax they could have. They use bees wax to lubricate their tools. I immediately thought of the bad wax. We speculated that the impurities and what honey is still in it should just burn off. Â I put some together for them today and they came to pick it up and will try it out this evening in their studio in Cambridge.
I love the idea that this “bad wax” will get yet another, last use!
{UPDATE} 7/28: Ribin let me know it works well after melting and one simple straining. So we’ll be gathering it as a group for the glassblowers!
