The confectionery giant will offer specially designed, recyclable, trick-or-treating bags throughout this month, working with digital waste and recycling solutions provider Rubicon Technologies as an expansion of its existing Trick-or-Trash campaign.
“Rubicon shares Mars’ commitment to creating a more sustainable future and we are proud to expand our Trick or Trash programme this Halloween alongside one another,” said Nate Morris, chairman and CEO of Rubicon.
“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.”
The collaboration will provide trick-or-treat bags with a prepaid postage stamp and three-step instructions on how to return it for proper recycling. Once returned, each individual bag and the wrappers placed inside are fully recycled for future use.
With more than 75% of people planning to celebrate Halloween this year and 93% of people celebrating planning to do so with chocolate and candy, Mars is preparing to meet consumers’ excitement, according to the company.
“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,” said Tim LeBel, chief Halloween officer and president of sales at Mars Wrigley.
“Over the past few years, Mars has made sure consumers can celebrate their most loved Halloween traditions, like trick-or-treating, with innovations such as ‘Treat Town’ in 2020 and Shipt candy formula in 2021. 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.”
Landfill
Rubicon’s own research shows the vast majority of wrappers from the 600 million pounds of candy purchased in the United States each season will end up in landfills due to limitations in most curbside recycling programmes.
Since 2019, Rubicon has provided schools, small businesses, and community organisations with free wrapper recycling boxes to help eliminate Halloween candy wrapper waste via its Trick or Trash campaign.
Mars’ said its collaboration with Rubicon underscores the company’s commitment to contributing to a circular economy and supports the Mars Sustainable in a Generation Plan.