Kickstart: Add teal to your pumpkin collection so more kids can trick or treat

Those orange plastic pumpkins may be a regular part of trick-or-treating, but one group is hoping that people handing out candy will consider investing in a teal pumpkin as well.

The Teal Pumpkin Project asks people to put out nonfood items in teal-colored pumpkins so that kids with food allergies also can participate in the Halloween tradition.

Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) is a nonprofit group that supports the estimated one in 13 children in the U.S. who have a potentially life-threatening food allergy. The Teal Pumpkin Project launched in 2012 to prompt homeowners to provide items such as stickers, small toys, puzzles and books in a separate container — preferably a teal pumpkin — so that trick-or-treaters can take an item they know is safe on Halloween.

"The number of children with food allergies has risen dramatically over the past 20 years, and the Teal Pumpkin Project brings the community together to ensure a safe and inclusive Halloween for all trick-or-treaters," FARE President and CEO Lisa Gable said in a news release.

It's been a busy few weeks for beach cleanups as volunteers from coast to coast — and around the world — participate in efforts to remove trash from beaches.

Efforts have ranged from North Carolina, where members of the Plastics Industry Association's Future Leaders in Plastics Committee (FLiP) joined the nonprofit group RiverLink to clear trash from River Bend Park along the Swannanoa River near Ashville, to Los Angeles, where NBA players, social media "influencers" and the actor Jaleel White (best known from TV's Family Matters) took part in the "Plastic Is Wack" cleanup.

And beyond the U.S., participants in the Seventh International Marine Debris Conference in Busan, South Korea, took part in a cleanup at Gwangalli Beach.

The International Coastal Cleanup has mobilized more than 17 million volunteers to remove nearly 350 million pounds of trash from beaches and waterways since it was launched by Ocean Conservancy in 1986.

The Planters brand of peanuts is combining its move for more sustainable packaging with a very familiar shape.

Brand owner Hormel Food Corp. announced Sept. 21 that its new 16-ounce packaging will reduce plastics use by 8 percent while also introducing a design that mimics that of a peanut shell.

"Like the small but mighty peanut, small changes like reduced plastics can help make a big impact," the company said in a news release.

Hormel says the new packaging will save an estimated 220 tons of plastic. The change is part of a corporatewide shift by Hormel that says will add up to saving 727,000 pounds of packaging material per year.