According to a Hubbub study, 83% of Halloween costumes are made using non-recyclable oil-based plastics; meaning they’re set for landfill. So, for just one day close to 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste is generated – the equivalent of 83 million plastic bottles. Yikes!
There is a better way to have an eerie-sistible time without buying off-shelf and scaring our environment. With the half-term school holiday before the big day, it’s a great opportunity to get creative.
Here are some spooktacular ways to have a green Halloween and creep it real!
- Reuse decorations from previous years or make them. Old tights with ladders make great spider-webbing.
- Make your own costumes or get preloved from charity shops, rather than buy new.
- Use regular crockery and cutlery instead of disposable. Use a marker or apply labels so partygoers can keep track of theirs.
- Buy locally produced goodies with minimal packaging and/or packaged in recycled materials. Check labels to see that chocolate and sugar are from sustainable sources.
- Use and decorate household containers to collect treats in. Decorate inexpensively at home and reuse year after year.
- Buy pumpkins from local farms or farmers’ markets. Better still, grow your own — kids love to watch them grow! Eat them! Almost every scrap is edible. Toast the seeds for tasty treats. Eat the flesh – it’s so versatile! Check out these 20 pumpkin recipes.
- Compost pumpkins if you can. We estimate that Halloween pumpkins cause an increase in food waste of about 20%. It’s good that people are at least recycling, but it’s always better to reduce the amount of waste produced in the first place before we do.
- Trick or Treat in your neighbourhood instead of driving somewhere. Get to know your neighbours, reduce your carbon emissions, and help keep the streets safe for other walkers.
All that’s left to say is to have a fangtastic time! Enjoy!