Mars, Rubicon partner to divert candy wrappers from landfill

Working with Lexington, Kentucky-based Rubicon, Mars will offer specially designed, recyclable, trick-or-treating bags throughout October as an expansion of Rubicon’s existing Trick or Trash campaign.

The collaboration gives Halloween lovers a simple and free way to tackle wrapper waste by providing trick-or-treat bags with prepaid postage stamps and simple, three-step instructions on how to return them for proper recycling. Once returned, each individual bag and the wrappers placed inside are fully recycled for future use. The bags and their contents are sorted and cleaned, and some end up as plastic pellets that can be reused.

With more than 75 percent of people planning to celebrate Halloween this year—up 11 percent from 2021—and 93 percent of those planning to do so with chocolate and candy, Mars is preparing for consumers’ holiday excitement.

“Mars and our iconic line-up of brands put the consumer at the heart of all we do, especially during our biggest moments, like Halloween,” Mars Wrigley Chief Halloween Officer and President of Sales Tim LeBel says. “This year, our Halloween leadership highlights Mars’ commitment to a healthy planet by providing a simple way to minimize packaging waste with the Mars and Rubicon ‘Trick or Trash’ bags.” 

While Halloween is one of the most anticipated celebrations of the year, research noted by Rubicon indicates the vast majority of wrappers from the 600 million pounds of candy purchased in the United States each Halloween season ends up in landfills, due to limitations in most curbside recycling programs. Since 2019, Rubicon has provided schools, small businesses and community organizations with free wrapper recycling boxes to help eliminate Halloween candy wrapper waste via its Trick or Trash campaign. Mars’ collaboration with Rubicon underscores the company’s commitment to contributing to a circular economy where packaging material never becomes waste, but is recycled, reused or composted and supports the Mars Sustainable in a Generation Plan. 

“Rubicon shares Mars’ commitment to creating a more sustainable future, and we are proud to expand our Trick or Trash program this Halloween alongside one another,” Rubicon Chair and CEO Nate Morris says. “We know that working with a variety of partners across industries is essential to keeping as much waste out of landfills as possible, and we are proud to collaborate with Mars, a global leader in the Halloween season and one who demonstrates a strong commitment to protecting our environment.” 

Trick or Trash bags are available to order online, along with a list of communities where the Trick or Trash bag can be found.