5 Tips for a More Sustainable Halloween
Halloween is upon us. It’s time to pull out the cobwebs and pick out the perfect pumpkin. While you’re picking the perfect costume and making sure your house is appropriately spooky, we have some tips to make your Halloween sustainable too.
Spooky season is notoriously wasteful so there’s so many ways to be more sustainable! If you’re not sure where to start, here are our 5 tips for a more sustainable Halloween:
1. Get Crafty with Your Costume
It may be tempting to go out and buy a new costume for Halloween, but buying new each year creates a lot of waste! Imagine if you bought a shirt, wore it for one day, and then gave it away. We wouldn’t do that with a shirt (I hope), so why would we do it with a costume?
Fortunately there’s a few easy solutions. First, you can reuse a costume from previous years. Second, you can get crafty with what’s already in your closet. Finally, you can share and swap with friends and family (or thrift it baby!).
2. Choose Candy Carefully
You probably already know this but individually wrapped Halloween candy creates so much waste. All those plastic wrappers get tossed in the garbage as you devour the tasty treats. And most of them are big brand names whose products are produced and shipped around the world. Think of the environmental impact!
Instead of shopping for big brand names with plastic waste, look for local treats that have minimal packaging or even biodegradable packaging. This might be a little pricier, but it is definitely the cleaner option. If you opt for the mainstream goodies choose chocolates wrapped in foil since it’s recyclable as scrap metal if you collect it all into a ball the size of your fist).
3. Pick Sustainable Decorations
As with any holiday, decorating can have quite the environmental impact, but don’t worry, there are some simple solutions!
For most of your décor avoid cheaply made items and opt instead for well-mad and especially locally-made items. Think wooden or metal décor! Try reusing common household items for decorations like using cotton batting for cobwebs. Or just simply reuse your decorations year over year – keep them in good shape by storing them carefully and remember to label your boxes so you don’t lose them in storage.
And what’s the most iconic piece of décor? A pumpkin of course! A jack-o-lantern to be exact. You might be wondering how a jack-o-lantern could possibly be more sustainable, but of course it can be! Try growing your own, buying it from a local farmer, making pumpkin seeds and baking (or dog/baby food) with the guts, and composting it when you’re done.
4. Reusable Trick-or-Treat Bags
You can’t trick-or-treat without a bag to put goodies in. And if we’ve taught you anything it’s that there’s always a more sustainable option!
For your kiddies’ trick-or-treat bags consider a reusable bag – maybe one you already had lying around, an old pillowcase, or even a bucket. To make it more fun, you can even have the kids help decorate it!
5. Low-Carbon Transportation
Stay close to home this Halloween. By staying close to home you can reduce your carbon emissions by not driving. Instead of driving you can bike, take transit, or even walk. The best option is to stay within your neighbourhood – and you might even get to know your neighbours a bit better!
What ways will you be changing your Halloween habits this year? Have more eco-friendly Halloween ideas? We’d love to hear what you do, in the comments.