Trick-or-treating is a fun time-honored Halloween tradition – but it leaves in its wake a mess of candy wrappers that aren’t all recyclable in your curbside bins. Every holiday brings an influx of waste headed toward landfills, but Lenawee County is launching a program this October to make a dent in that trend.
Through a Materials Management Planning Grant from the Michigan Department of Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), Lenawee County will have four boxes starting October 25, 2025, at local libraries to collect plastic candy wrappers during your Halloween cleanup.
The locations include:
- Adrian Public Library, 143 E Maumee St Adrian, MI
- Tecumseh District Library, 215 N Ottawa St, Tecumseh, MI
- Blissfield Library (Schultz-Holmes Memorial Library), 407 S Lane St, Blissfield, MI
- The Britton Branch of the Lenawee District Library, 120 College Ave, Britton, MI
“We’re so thankful for these libraries partnering with us to host the boxes for this project,” said Lenawee County Materials Management Program Coordinator Julie Maurer. “This is a great way to get kids thinking about how we can still enjoy our favorite holidays while also establishing sustainable practices.”
The boxes will be in these locations through November 7, 2025, for your plastic candy-wrapper recycling needs. Please flatten your wrappers as much as possible to create more room in the containers for others.
What’s accepted:
- Plastic foil-lined wrappers
- Flexible wrap
- Blister packs
These boxes are for the plastic wrappers only, so a little sorting is needed for your candy waste.
What’s not accepted:
- Cardboard
- Paper wrappers
- Foil-only wrappers
- Food waste
- Wooden and bamboo sticks
Cardboard, paper, and foil-only wrappers can be placed with your regular recycling for those materials.
In addition to the four boxes in the community, Lenawee County has also given a box to the Natural Resources program at the LISD Tech Center for students to collect wrappers and fill as a group project.
Once the collection period is over, the boxes will be collected and mailed to a Materials Recycling Facility operated by a group called Terracycle, which will then work with third-party partners to process the materials into usable forms.
“Enjoy your favorite holiday treats without the guilty feeling for producing a pile of trash to go to the landfill,” Maurer said. “Unfortunately, we can do nothing about guilt associated with sugar-intake at this time.”
If you have questions about the recycling boxes, please e-mail solid.waste@lenawee.mi.us.