Halloween is approaching, which means pumpkins, costumes, candy, and…trash? Each October Americans buy roughly 600 million pounds of candy, most of which is individually wrapped in single-use plastics. A single trick or treater can generate up to one pound of trash from candy alone. This makes for a real-life Halloween nightmare. So what makes candy wrappers so uniquely troublesome?
The Deal With Candy Wrappers
Like most other single-use plastics, candy wrappers are usually coated in waxy or poly coatings, making them unsuitable to be recycled with traditional items such as cardboard and paper. Oftentimes the wrappers are multi-layered, which requires manual separation. Another issue when recycling these discarded treats is the size. Think about how small a tootsie roll wrapper is in comparison to a plastic water bottle! Traditional recycling sorting machines simply aren't made to sort such minuscule pieces. Not to mention all this is assuming you even recycle your candy wrappers in the first place.
What Can You Do?
So what do we do in the face of this horror? Well… it turns out we can do a lot! Consider making your own halloween treats, or buying types of candies that aren’t individually wrapped. Talk to your neighbors and friends and raise the issue with them. If they agree, collect all your Halloween trash and reach out to companies such as Terracycle or Rubicon Technologies, which both utilize send-back programs similar to ours. Terracycle is U.S. based and will ship boxes to customers for a fee that covers the cost of shipping and recycling. If you can’t afford the cost of a Terracycle box, Rubicon Technologies’ program Trick or Trash will mail a free box to a school, business, or community. For a safer, kid-friendly option, hand out our Fudge Brownie Bites or Apple Pie Bites! They are just as delicious, not to mention made with clean ingredients and wrapped in 100% compostable packaging. Our organic dried Mango and Pineapple snack packs also provide a tasty, healthy treat. This Halloween, let's make a commitment to enjoy the holiday AND be environmentally conscious.
Sources:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ban-halloween-candy-plastic-wrappers_n_5db758c3e4b006d49173a25f
https://www.news10.com/news/how-to-be-eco-friendly-this-halloween/
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-11-01/halloween-candy-makers-grapple-plastic-waste