A Sustainable Halloween
How to make your Halloween more eco-friendly
October 25, 2019 —
Halloween is a fun tradition for many: amusing costumes, spooky decorations and of course, lots and lots of treats. But have you thought about the waste generated from this once-a-year experience? It’s easy to get caught up in Halloween festivities, but what’s scarier is perhaps the amount of waste sent to the landfills on Nov. 1.
Here are five tips to have an eco-friendlier Halloween:
- Parties: When throwing a Halloween party, make it a zero-waste party! Avoid using single-use plastics such as cups, plates and cutlery. This will significantly cut back on unnecessary waste. Use regular kitchenware or opt for biodegradable options.
- Pumpkins: Buy your pumpkin from your local farmers’ market! When carving your pumpkins, try your hand at composting the rest of the organic matter, or put it to good use! Who doesn’t love pumpkin pie or roasted pumpkin seeds?
- Costumes: Instead of buying new, shop at your local thrift store, borrow from a friend or make your own pieces from old clothing and textiles! Not only will this save resources, but it will also save you money as well!
- Candy: Many of the treats that we see in the grocery stores come wrapped in large amounts of plastic packaging. However, there are many alternatives to this problem:
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- If you don’t mind spending time packaging your own candy, you can purchase your treats in bulk! Package them in small reusable jars or mini paper bags.
- Chocolate lovers can purchase fair-trade chocolate bars.
- Bake your own treats! Everyone loves homemade goodies, especially Halloween-themed desserts such as cookies, cupcakes and candy apples!
- Decorations:
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- Make sure to reuse as many decorations as you can from year to year. Try not to get sucked in by new or flashy items. Besides, Halloween only happens one day out of the year!
- Get crafty! Turn on your creativity, gather some art supplies and make your own decorations from various household or outdoor items (branches, leaves, cardboard, ribbon, tin cans, etc.)
Have a happy – and sustainable – Halloween!