How to
recycle candy wrappers after Halloween…when they AREN’T Single Stream
recyclable
Tis the season for the ghosts and ghouls to come
a-knocking-and they’re all looking for candy! Halloween is a fun holiday
whether you are a trick-or-treater, or handing out goodies at your door, but
however you celebrate one thing is for sure-at the end of the night you are
left with a big pile of candy wrappers. The scary thing is….they are NOT Single Stream recyclable!
(*For those of you who subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter, this may sound familiar, but read on, I have included some extra goodies for the blog!)
As many of you know, candy wrappers, (as well as wrappers
for many common snacks such as energy bars, mini muffins and chips) are not
acceptable with your single stream recycling. They are considered contaminants
and cannot be processed at our recycling processing facility, The American
Recycling Center.
This is disheartening considering how prevalent these
goodies are, but fear not, wrappers CAN be recycled.
Terracycle® and Upcycling
Much like plastic bags, which are also a contaminant and must be brought to drop off locations in order to be recycled, wrappers too have their own special process they must go through in order to be made into new goods. You can begin the process of recycling your wrappers by contacting Terracycle.
Terracycle is a company that provides free collection programs for hard to recycle materials which they then turn into affordable green products. In addition to recycling these materials, Terracycle also uses upcycling to create new goods.
Upcycling means the materials are re-used to make new things without disturbing their original form. For example: sewing potato chip bags together to create an eye-catching backpack or purse.
On the contrary, recycling means melting a product down
until it is unrecognizable, then using that raw material to create another
product, like creating park benches or composite timber from melted down
plastic bags and films.
Upcycling at Home
You can even upcycle your waste at home! Upcycling your own
wrappers after Halloween is not only thrifty and environmentally friendly, but
it can also provide you with countless fun projects!
Here are some ideas for products you can create at home with
hard to recycle goods, like those numerous candy wrappers. (*Just click on the caption for the full tutorial!)
To Wrap it Up...
Whether you send your wrappers in to collection companies, like Terracycle, or use them at home to make your own funky new goods, we hope you will think twice before throwing these items in the trash. Remember, while not all items are Single Stream recyclable, almost all man made products can be upcycled or recycled in some way, it’s just a matter of getting creative and utilizing great free collection services like Terracycle.
Happy Halloween and Thanks for reading!
