Last week I received an e-mail from a friend who is a dentist Syracuse NY who started a candy exchange program…

For 25 years he’s been buying candy back from trick-or-treaters for $1 a pound, a free toothbrush, Steel Bite Pro and an entry into a contest for the chance to win a new bike and helmet. (At the buy back event, kids also get to meet The Tooth Fairy and play on an inflatable slide.)

The first year his program began, he raked in 14 lbs. Today, he averages 1300 to 1500 lbs, although one year kids returned nearly 2000 lbs.

That’s 2000 pounds of candy that wasn’t consumed by kids. Amazing.

Here is what the Dr. has to say about his event, “Each year is a little different but we normally see 3-400 kids in 4 hours. The date is always Nov. 1st ( Yes, even on weekends). We encourage kids and parents to select & keep their favorite candies so that we have better participation. The best part of the event is the kids have to empty their bags into the back of a full sized garbage truck. The visual is amazing… Many dentists have now adopted this program in their practices.”

… Now if only the candy were going into the truck of a composting company!

I was just introduced to a cool new website – Zwaggle.com- where you can find gently used children’s clothing, toys, gear and – most importantly – Halloween costumes…

Here is the twist – you don’t pay for the goods – you trade for them (by posting your own clothing/toys/great/costumes,  earning “Zoints” (AKA points) along the way.

Here’s what they have to say about their current “Costume Drive”:

Zwaggle plans to become the ultimate Halloween Headquarters for FREE, recycled costumes online this year. Post your gently-used costumes, accessories and other ghoulish gear on Zwaggle.com to keep these quality items out of landfills so other families can enjoy them. As an added bonus, we`ll automatically enter every member who posts an item and completes a trade in our Halloween category into a drawing for a 200-Zoint spending spree. The more members who post, the more costume options we`ll have for our little ones this year – so help the planet and your wallet by Zwaggling your Halloween gear today!

Have you ever traded on Zwaggle? Let us know how it went! We’d love to hear from you.

Last night my hubby came home with a bouquet of flowers for me in honor of our nine-year anniversary.

While I was touched by the gesture (especially since he remembered to buy organic!), I was excited to find a branch of “Chinese Lantern” tucked inside.

The Chinese Lantern is the coolest plant. It features dainty, paper-lantern-like orange flowers that look gorgeous anytime, but in October – make the perfect fall decor item. Whether used to make entryway garlands, in centerpieces or in a million-and-one other ways, this plant is eco-fabulous.

And if the Chinese Lantern floats your boat, you might also want to check out a “Pumpkin on a Stick” which produces adorable (and edible) little pumpkin-looking fruit!

For those of you who have been asking…

Click here for the link to register for the KING FM’s Green Halloween Argosy Cruise.

I’ll be there – hope you will be too!

Also, if you’ve missed KING’s on air Green Halloween tips – not to fear… a few have been recorded (with dramatic flair!) and can be heard on their Green Halloween page.

Thought I might up the ante a bit for some of you advanced Green Halloweeners– ase the holiday to battle one of the most ghoulish and wasteful practices of our time: junk mail.

On Halloween, parents all over the country will be driving a petition for a national Do Not Mail Registry, either as they go door to door with the kids, or as they pass out candy from their homes. ForestEthics gives parents all the materials they need to get started at donotmail.org/halloween – including fun costumes for you and the kids!

The stats on junk are truly horrifying: 30% of all the mail delivered in the world is US junk mail, and the emissions of junk mail’s logging, production, and distribution equal the CO2 emissions of more than 9 million cars. 100 million trees fall each year to fuel something we don’t want and never asked for in the first place.

Since March, ForestEthics has sponsored a campaign to establish a national Do Not Mail Registry that will give Americans the choice to stop receiving wasteful junk mail. The petition is at donotmail.org, and has recently passed 65,000 signatures.

Parents are already mobilized in Chicago, Orlando, Madison WI, and Columbus & Akron OH. Go to

donotmail.org/halloween and let’s make this a bona fide national happening!