Five Ways to Enjoy Plastic Free Sweets This Holiday Season

plastic free sweets

As Halloween approaches, candy seems to be everywhere – yet no one is talking about plastic free sweets! Halloween candy can be especially waste heavy, with so many bite-sized versions of your favourite sweets each individually wrapped in plastic. This type of plastic packaging can’t be recycled in most facilities. Thankfully, there are plenty of plastic free sweets on the market – here’s where to find them!

 

Five Ways to Get Plastic Free Sweets

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1.   Chocolate bars

Chocolate bars are perhaps one of the easiest sweets to get plastic free, but you’ll need to do a bit of research as some chocolate bars come with a paper exterior and a sneaky plastic lining inside. One of my favourite brands is Tony’s Chocolonely, which comes in paper packaging with aluminium foil inside. Cocoa Loco also offers great options, including these pudding truffles which have a compostable eco-plastic window and cardboard packaging.

 

2.   Fruity sweets

On the hunt for fruity sweets? These can be harder to find, but not impossible! Check out Mallow Tree’s lemon sherbets, which arrive packaged in compostable cardboard. You might also consider sweets wrapped in wax paper, like fruity tootsie rolls

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3.   Pick & Mix or Bulk stores

Bulk stores are a great place to get plastic free sweets, whether you’re looking for chocolate or fruity. Plus, you can load up on multiple options by going to one location. Just be sure to bring your own container and be prepared to pay by tare weight. For more on how to shop at a bulk store, check out my post here!

4.   Farmers markets

Farmers markets and local markets are great places to look for plastic free sweets! Many small businesses use more eco-conscious packaging. If they don’t, you can also contact them ahead of time and ask if you can bring your own container and transfer the sweets into it so they save on packaging as well.

5.   TerraCycle

For some people, getting plastic free sweets just isn’t attainable – whether you have family members who are eating plastic-wrapped candy or neighbours who drop it off by the bucket – sometimes plastic is unavoidable. This type of packaging is not recyclable in most local recycling facilities and needs to go to a speciality recycling centre. You can get a TerraCycle Zero Waste Box to collect the wrappers and ship them to a TerraCycle facility. Shipping is free, and you can rest easy knowing that the plastic has truly been recycled. 

Whether you’re celebrating Halloween or you just have a sweet tooth, try to opt for plastic free sweets when you can. Although it might seem like a small swap, you’re creating demand for plastic free options and creating less waste. That’s a win-win!

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