Kure Beach, NC— After the jack-o-lanterns go dark and the last bits of candy eaten, a massive amount of trash remains to remind us of Halloween fun and excess. The N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher invites local students to put a little green in their Halloween by collecting used candy wrappers for recycling. Instead of trashing empty wrappers and filling landfills with extra waste, classes around New Hanover and Brunswick counties are encouraged to save the wrappers. The class delivering the most candy wrappers by weight to the Aquarium by Dec. 1, 2012, will be treated to a free Outreach program including a live animal presentation. The Aquarium will weigh the collected wrappers, sort according to recycling viability and send the wrappers to a recycling partner, TerraCycle. TerraCycle creates recycling systems for hard-to-recycle waste, turning trash to treasure in the form of new products like park benches, purses and backpacks. This partnership raises money for conservation efforts at the Aquarium. “This wrapper program is part of our ongoing focus on conservation and helps raise money for Aquarium conservation efforts,” said Jennifer Metzler-Fiorino, Education Curator. “Students can collectively take action in a simple way, and begin to think of new ways their communities can make a positive impact on our environment.” Wrappers will be accepted at the Aquarium from 9 to 5 p.m. Aquarium staff will try to weigh wrappers at the time of drop-off. If, however, this is not possible, an email will be sent to the classroom teacher documenting the weight. Please note, the Aquarium welcomes all wrapper contributions during the collection period. The winning outreach program, however, is limited to one program for 30 students. N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher is located 15 miles south of Wilmington, near Kure Beach, on U.S. 421. The site is less than a mile from the Fort Fisher ferry terminal. Normal operating hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s days). Admission: $8 ages 13-61, $7 ages 62 and older, $6 ages 3-12, free for children 2 and younger, NC Aquarium Society members and pre-registered North Carolina school groups. General information: ncaquariums.com/fort-fisher.