Halloween candy and trick or treating are traditions heralded around the world, but this beloved tradition comes with a less than sweet environmental costs. Halloween has its origins in an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain , according to the. It was meant to welcome the harvest at the end of summer. People would light torches to ward off ghosts and bad vibes.
Besides the centuries-old debate between parents and children about the consumption of Halloween candy, there is also a sustainability concern. First is the issue of materials waste. Individual candies come in wrappers that are difficult to recycle, a vestige of '70s-eraclaims that discarded pumpkins alone account for 18,000 tons of food waste, and more than $400 million of uneaten candy gets tossed every year.Red Dye No.