Unwrap the Waves Candy Wrapper Recycling Competition!

Unwrap the Waves Candy Wrapper Competition Enters its Fifth Year

On Thursday, October 1st, we will be launching our fan-favorite candy wrapper competition, Unwrap the Waves, for its fifth consecutive year. The annual competition is aimed to bring greater awareness surrounding holiday waste and single-use plastic. Each wrapper collected will be repurposed into post-consumer items.

Each year, schools, community organizations, and individuals participate in the initiative to help save our seas from plastic waste. With the help of 34 schools and more than seven community partners throughout four counties, the 2019 initiative collected 272,595 candy wrappers in partnership with Terracycle’s Zero Waste Program with H.L. Johnson Elementary School as the recycling champion.

Unwrap The Waves: Where Education Meets Conservation

According to Stanford University, Americans discard 25 percent more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s than any other time of the year. Unfortunately, the extra waste is estimated to produce an additional 25 million tons of garbage. However, regional and international efforts can reduce this reality. The Unwrap The Waves candy wrapper recycling program helps combat holiday waste while involving school children in conservation education.

“We are anticipating greater participation than we’ve ever seen in previous years,” said Lindsay French, STEM Education Coordinator. “Despite this year’s unique circumstances, we still find that schools and community partners are eager to play a part in conservation and learning that it can be done so through simple measures. ”

Saving Our Seas, One Wrapper At A Time

Participating schools will be given canvas bags that they place their candy wrappers in to drop off at designated organizations. The Center is advising drop-off locations to follow guidelines administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to safely collect candy wrappers from the public. Using a contact-free method, wrappers will be deposited into an open container with hand sanitizer nearby. 

Candy wrapper recycling collection begins on Thursday, October 1 at 9 a.m. EST through November 10. The school winner will be announced on November 13. The first place school winner will be awarded the opportunity to name a sea turtle patient at LMC, while the second-place school winner will be provided with a sea turtle adoption.

This year, we hope to expand our sustainability impact of the program by welcoming individuals, community organizations, and schools across the country to participate in the program. To do so, our team is calling on sponsors to support the Unwrap the Waves initiative. Sponsors are kindly asked to donate $250 to provide collection boxes at drop-off sites. Each box has the capacity to hold 18,000 recyclable candy wrappers. To become a sponsor, please contact Casey Palmer at cpalmer@marinelife.org or 561-627-8280, x. 128. 

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Loggerhead Marinelife Center. Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) is a nonprofit sea turtle research, rehabilitation and educational institution that promotes conservation of ocean ecosystems with a focus on threatened and endangered sea turtles. The Center features an on-site hospital, research laboratory, educational exhibits and aquariums, and also operates the Juno Beach Pier, which hosts world-class angling and sightseeing. Situated on one of the world’s most important sea turtle nesting beaches, Loggerhead Marinelife Center is open daily and hosts over 350,000 guests free-of-charge each year. The Center’s conservation team works with 90 local and international organizations across six continents to form partnerships and share conservation initiatives and best practices that are core to its mission of ocean conservation. The Center is expanding and has launched its Waves of Progress capital expansion campaign, designed to accelerate and amplify LMC’s conservation and education impact. When complete, the facility will offer one of the world’s most advanced and unique experiences for guests and scientific partners. For more information, visit www.marinelife.org or call (561) 627-8280.

Media Contact:

Lauren Eissey

Public Relations and Engagement Specialist

561-627-8280, x124

leissey@marinelife.org