3 Tips for a Low Waste Halloween
Halloween! Such a fun fantastical holiday when you can really be whoever you want to be:
- Storm from the X-Men?
- Willy Wonka?
- Or popular and scary Freddy Krueger?
Well, even scarier might be the incredible amount of plastic waste generated during this holiday. One study estimated that the UK tossed over 2,000 tons of new plastic waste from throwaway Halloween clothing alone during the 2019 holiday. Whaaaaa? That’s scary. And that isn’t even counting waste from candy wrappers and jack-o-lanterns.
Good news, though. This is avoidable!
In any case, there is a good chance that some waste will be avoided this year because of COVID since trick-or-treating won’t be allowed in many places. But here are 3 easy things to do to reduce waste during Halloween.
1.) Make a Jack-o-lantern!
Get your pumpkins, everybody! But roast the seeds. Also, when your pumpkin starts to go, put it in your yard debris bin or compost pile to be composted instead of throwing it in the trash.
2.) Get creative with your costume. Say no to single-use.
Tim as Alastair Moody!
Do you have your costume or your kiddo’s costume dialed in yet? Here’s a reminder to get creative rather than buying a brand new packaged plastic firefighter suit.
- Can you buy a second-hand suit from the thrift store?
- Can you avoid using costumes with pieces of plastic that will just fall off and end up in the yard?
- Can you use non-toxic face paint and makeup?
- Channel your inner DIY ninja!
We wrote a whole blog about DIY costumes a few years ago!
Tess as the Loch-Tess Monster!
Kailey as Guess Who’s Maria!
3.) Can we green-up the trick-or-treat candy?
Even if you aren’t going trick-or-treating, there are better ways to buy candy to reduce waste. Here are a couple of ideas:
- AlterEco has compostable wrappers.
- Choose candy that comes in cardboard boxes or foil so that you have recyclable wrappers.
- Can you find your favorite candies in the bulk section at Bend Food 4 Less, Market of Choice, or Fred Meyer, for example?