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Recycle Valentine’s Candy Wrappers With Easy DIY Project

Recycle Valentine’s Candy Wrappers With Easy DIY Project

Between Halloween and Valentine’s Day, Americans spend over $3.1 billion dollars on candy. Besides having a horrifying effect on the waistline, this type of consumption sends tons of waste to the landfill in the form of discarded candy wrappers.

Last Halloween, I reported on a unique program created by TerraCycle to increase recycling rates of candy wrappers called “The Candy Brigade.” This initiative is in full effect again now that Valentine’s Day has passed.

As a fun activity for Valentine’s Day, TerraCycle and Nestlé have designed a unique and fun DIY project suitable for any age. The craft project will turn chocolate wrappers into a “love bracelet” that can be given to friends or family as a gift! (Download the instructions here.) When you’re done with your bracelet it can also be returned through the Chocolate Wrapper Brigade!

Even if you’re not the crafty type, you can still return the wrappers free of charge to TerraCycle to be upcycled into items such as tote bags, kites, backpacks and other accessories that will be readily available at major retailers and www.TerraCycleShop.com. In addition, packaging that is not suitable for the above items can be used in industrial products such as floor tiles, plastic lumber, etc.

For each wrapper returned through the program, Mars and TerraCycle will pay two cents to a charity of the your choice. Since the program started, TerraCycle’s Brigade Programs have diverted almost two billion pieces of waste from landfills with the help from almost 60,000 locations participating.

Also Check Out:
Give Used Halloween Candy Wrappers A Second Life
How To Choose The Best Candy
Healthier Valentine’s Candy and Chocolate
Lead Contamination Prompts Recall Of Toxic Waste Candy

Read more: Conscious Consumer, Conservation, Crafts & Design, Eco-friendly tips, Green, Reduce, Recycle & Reuse, Valentine's Day, , , , , , , , ,

Beth Buczynski

Beth is a freelance writer and editor living in the Rocky Mountain West. So far, Beth has lived in or near three major U.S. mountain ranges, and is passionate about protecting the important ecosystems they represent. Follow Beth on Twitter as @ecosphericblog or check out her blog.

53 comments

+ add your own
11:25AM PDT on Apr 8, 2012

OMG - gum chains are back! I still have mine; it's over 150 feet long.

4:32AM PST on Feb 15, 2012

This is such a great idea...I am so impressed. I had not heard of it before and am so glad I did today!

5:42AM PST on Nov 13, 2011

So cute!

12:21AM PDT on Aug 5, 2011

Thanks Beth.

7:41AM PDT on Jul 25, 2011

Thank you

7:58AM PDT on Mar 24, 2011

Love love LOVE this article. I had no idea about the brigade. Thanks for sharing!

6:20PM PDT on Mar 18, 2011

USed to make these with gum wrappers when we were little! Everything old is new!

8:24PM PDT on Mar 16, 2011

So cute, I want to make some.

11:15AM PST on Mar 7, 2011

Glad to finally find a tutorial on these and on care2 of all places! :) This made my day, thanks!

10:44AM PST on Mar 3, 2011

my cousin made one of those for me 11 years ago, i was looking how to make it myself. Thanks!

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