This Machine Transforms Unwanted Halloween Candy Into Reese's Cups

Remember all the candy you begrudgingly dropped into your pillowcase or jack-o'-lantern bucket as a child during Halloween? Unimpressive candy corn and jaw-locking Tootsie Rolls; polarizing licorice sticks; little baggies of semi-crushed pretzels; repellent raisins — the (horrifying) list goes on.

Fortunately, if you're trick-or-treating with kids in New York City this Halloween (or you just happen to have a lot of second-rate candy on hand) you're in luck.

The "Reese's Halloween Candy Converter Machine" just opened up in Washington Square Park on 5th Avenue. And it's exactly what it sounds like. Now, you can swap your banana-flavored Laffy Taffy's and Necco Wafers for the good stuff: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. No longer will your piles of rejected candy end up in the trash.

According to Anna Lingeris, a spokesperson for The Hershey Company, more than half of candy-buyers shop for Reese's products. And even more — about 90% of Americans — have traded, or wished they could trade, unwanted candy on All Hallows' Eve. That's why the popular chocolate manufacturer has decided to alleviate our sugary woes this year.

The Candy Converter, which made its original debut on Oct. 28 at a Halloween Festival in Tarrytown, New York, is simple to use. All you have to do it put your unwanted candy into the machine, which it conjures Reese's Cups instead.

For the New York City setup, which will accept exchanges until 9pm on Oct. 31, Hershey's has allotted up to 10,000 Reese's Cups for trade. After that, unfortunately, the machine will disappear into the night.

"This has been quite the day and we love the feedback from our fans," Lingeris, a spokesperson for The Hershey Company, told CNN. "Maybe we will bring the Reese's Candy Exchange to other cities; stay tuned for Halloween 2019."

So wherever you are in the world, hold on to those butterscotch-flavored hard candies until next year. After all, no one wants to miss out on free candy.