Can you believe that Halloween is next week? I certainly can’t. With Halloween comes haunted houses, creative costumes and lots of sweet treats…wrapped in plastic. Below are 4 ideas for an eco-friendly Halloween.
While Halloween is a time for fun with friends and family, it also is a very wasteful holiday. This study estimates that 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste are accumulated from Halloween costumes and clothing in just the United Kingdom every year, with 83 percent of the studied costume pieces containing plastics. That’s just from the UK, so imagine how much plastic waste is accumulated in Canada, the United States, and the whole world!
In addition to that, think about all the candy wrappers you go through each Halloween. When I used to Trick-Or-Treat I would get hundreds of chocolates and candies, all wrapped in shiny, colourful plastic. None of that wrapping is recyclable. Don’t forget about household decorations, as well: cobwebs, laminated paper cut-outs, stickers, plastic body parts, candles – the list goes on.
One thing is for sure: conventional Halloween celebrations are not environmentally friendly. But guess what? You can make your Spooktober Celebrations more sustainable. Keep reading to learn 4 ideas for an eco-friendly Halloween!
Stopping buying new costumes every year. Instead, take part in costume clothing swaps and check out thrift stores.
Who dresses up as the same thing for more than one Halloween? It’s all about finding the great costume, with some people planning their Halloween costume for the following year on November 1st!
We go through so many costumes made of cheap materials (even though costumes are ridiculously expensive). To reduce your ecological (and financial) impact, take part in community costume swaps! Trade whole costumes or staple pieces with friends, family and peers. You might get an idea for a costume you never thought of before, save loads of money, and have a fun experience! Alternatively you can shop at thrift stores which usually put out a used costume/costume-esque section, allowing you to purchase costume pieces at a much lower price than new ones in store. I love this option because I tend to find steals like jackets or pants which I wear in my everyday life (my wardrobe is essentially an array of artsy/hipster costumes).
Make your own decorations – become a DIY pro.
What better way to recycle materials around your home than make spooky decorations? Soup cans can be used as eerie candle holders, which you can cut into, creating designs like stars and swirls. Cereal boxes can be opened up and used as poster boards. Leftover yarn or wool from a sewing project can be transformed into cobwebs. The possibilities are endless, and again much more affordable and sustainable than store-bought decorations.
Don’t throw your carved pumpkin out – eat it!
Pumpkins are food. Good food. You don’t need to throw out your perfect pumpkin on November 1st. Cut it up and roast it in the oven, make it into a creamy soup, bake it and then blend it up to use in pumpkin pancakes, bread or muffins. Save the seeds, which can be roasted with cinnamon to make a delicious snack. The skin is edible once it’s baked, too. Just make sure to wash it when you bring it back inside!
Candy wrappers? Be creative!
Admittedly, this is probably the most challenging part of Halloween to make sustainable. However, challenging does not mean impossible! Even though some candies come in cardboard boxes, they may be too small to be captured by municipal recycling programs; all chip bag, foil-wrapped candies and chocolate bar wrappers are garbage.
If you are hosting a party or having friends over you can definitely make your own treats to serve them, but that’s generally a no-go when handing out candy. I once got offered a homemade jello cup on Halloween with fake teeth in it when I asked for water…
There are several ways to reuse candy wrappers, rather than waste them. An organization in British Columbia accepts candy wrappers year-round to be used for energy production. Cool, right? Although if you don’t live near this municipality it may be challenging to partake in this initiative. You could, however, try bringing it to your own city!
The creative recycling company Terracycle offers a mail-in recycling program, where consumers mail their empty candy wrappers to them for a small fee to be recycled in their specialized system. You may not be keen on paying to recycle, it’s a small fee to pay to protect our land, air and oceans; you can split the costs between a large group to make it an affordable option.
You can also make candy wrappers into fun craft projects, like pouches or bracelets. Sustainable, and a great gift idea for Christmas (which is two months and two days away, FYI).
Final thoughts
Halloween can be both fun and sustainable if you know how to do so. Try using these 4 ideas for an eco-friendly Halloween. See how these changes compare to your usual practices.
Now that you are aware of some key sources of waste and solutions, what’s stopping you from making these changes? Try making just one this Halloween, and see how it changes your perspective. I promise you that you will still enjoy the holiday, possibly even more so because you know you are doing good for the planet!
How are you going to make your Halloween more sustainable? Let me know in the comments!
For more sustainable holiday inspiration, check out these posts:
- How to have a sustainable Christmas
- Plant-based eating during the holidays
- Plant-based eating on vacation
- Eco-tourism: how to vacation sustainably
Until next time!