![]() ![]() That’s why it’s critical to have food companies or individual consumers funding recycling efforts, said Tom Szaky, the CEO of TerraCycle. Environmental Protection Agency, containers and packaging made up 21% of trash going into landfills in 2018. These guys aren’t social workers,” said Brandon Wright, a spokesman for the National Waste and Recycling Association, which represents waste management companies.Īs a result, a lot of plastic packaging ends up getting thrown away. They’re multi-colored, so when they’re mixed together they come out as an unappealing brown.Įven when companies do go to the effort of recycling candy wrappers, they produce such a low-value plastic that it doesn’t recoup the cost of recycling. They have to be cleaned to remove grease, oil and other food waste. They’re small and flimsy, making it easy for them to bypass typical sorting equipment. They often contain a mix of materials, like foil, which must be separated. They’re also easy to modify for different functions some might have a coating so candy doesn’t stick to them, for example.īut plastic wrappers are a challenge for recycling companies. They’re cheap and lightweight, which cuts down on shipping costs, said Muhammad Rabnawaz, an associate professor in the school of packaging at Michigan State University. Plastic wrappers are ideal for candy for lots of reasons. ![]() Rubicon notes that it pays extra to UPS to offset the carbon emissions from shipping. Mars and Rubicon won’t say how much they’re spending on their Halloween programs. Rubicon expects to send out 5,000 boxes this year. An additional box, or a box for personal use, is $100 Rubicon says that covers the cost of making the box, shipping it both ways and recycling the wrappers. Since 2019, Rubicon has had its own program called Trick or Trash, which mails one free box to schools, businesses and community groups to collect candy wrappers for recycling. Mars is partnering with Lexington, Kentucky-based Rubicon Technologies, a consultant and software provider that connects companies and municipalities to recyclers. ![]() “What I’d like to see is this program actually goes away over time and we have a solution where it’s no longer required and we’re fully recyclable,” said Tim LeBel, president of sales for Mars Wrigley U.S. But even then, the recycling program would still address just a fraction of the problem. The bags fit around 4 ounces of material if all 17,400 are returned, that would equal more than 2 tons of recycled wrappers. That recycler, G2 Revolution, forms the packages into pellets and uses them to make waste bags for dogs. The bags can be filled with wrappers and packaging from any brand and mailed free to a specialty recycler in Illinois. consumers through its website and at community events. Since the beginning of October, Mars - the maker of Snickers and M&Ms - has distributed 17,400 candy waste collection bags to U.S. But they acknowledge their efforts are only making a small dent and say more fundamental changes are needed. Attorney’s Offices.Halloween treats have a tricky problem: plastic packaging that’s difficult to recycle.Īs America loads up on an estimated 600 million pounds of candy for Halloween, a handful of companies are trying to make it easier to recycle all those wrappers. This investigation demonstrates the strength of collaborative local, county and state law enforcement efforts in Connecticut and our strong partnership with the U.S. “Illegal drug distribution ravages the very foundations of our families and communities so every time we take pills containing fentanyl off the streets, lives are undoubtedly saved. ![]() “Fentanyl is causing deaths in record numbers and DEA’s top priority is to aggressively pursue anyone who distributes this poison in order to profit and destroy people’s lives,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian Boyle. “I thank the DEA Task Force members for their work in this investigation and for taking this substantial quantity of fentanyl off the street.” “Trafficking fentanyl is already and undoubtedly a serious offense, but one doesn’t have to stretch their imagination too far to consider how disguising fentanyl pills in children’s candy packaging, as we allege, can result in even more tragic consequences in the community,” said U.S. Investigators searched the SUV and found numerous Nerds candy boxes and Skittles candy bags containing thousands of fentanyl pills. When a Rocky Hill police officer attempted to stop the SUV for a traffic violation, the driver of it sped and ran over a roadside curb onto a grass area along the side of the road where law enforcement vehicles boxed it in. ![]()
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