In October we not only welcome fall, but we begin to adjust to cooler temperatures, the leaves begin to turn beautiful colors, everything is all of a sudden pumpkin spice and cinnamon-flavored, and we prepare for Halloween. Living in Northern California the first two aren’t always guaranteed, but we can definitely expect the shift to spooky vibes as we enter Halloween season. Halloween can be so fun and festive, but in fact the scariest part of Halloween can be the holiday's negative impacts on the environment.
Halloween is celebrated by about 70% of the US population and the celebrations occur in many different ways; watching classic Halloween movies, decorating the house and front lawn with extravagant decor, swapping throw pillows for decorative Halloween-themed pillows, passing out candy, or buying pumpkins to carve for the porch. While it’s fun to keep these Halloween traditions alive, it’s frightening to see how harmful it is to the earth.
Pumpkins don’t just pop out of nowhere, it takes plenty of water and energy to grow them. Last year the United States Department of Agriculture estimated that 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins were purchased for Halloween, yet over 80% of the pumpkins are discarded after the holiday. Not only does tossing out the pumpkins contribute to food waste, but if not properly thrown out, pumpkins in the landfills will produce methane, a harmful greenhouse gas. There are ways to reduce the amount of annual pumpkin waste. Here are a few tips!
Pumpkins are compostable. If you have a compost bin or just want to nourish your own soil, check out this quick read on how to compost a pumpkin. Don’t have a compost bin or a backyard with soil? No worries. You can also donate the remnants to a local farm, neighbor, or zoo to be used as feed for the animals. Oakland Zoo accepts Halloween pumpkin donations. Do you love cooking or baking? Then you can opt for the more delicious option – using the leftover pumpkin in a Fall-themed recipe. There’s the classic roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie, pumpkin chili, pumpkin bread, ravioli – the possibilities are endless.
Other typical Halloween traditions such as buying costumes, decorations, and candy can also be wasteful. But don’t be scared or feel discouraged to celebrate Halloween because there are plenty of low-waste alternatives. Here are some ways to create a greener halloween!
Tap into your creativity and make your own costume this year. A pair of overalls can be used for a scarecrow, farmer or minion! Check out this list of 87 different DIY Halloween costumes. The best part of all is that these costumes can be replicated using items from your closet (or a friend's!). Refrain from buying a new Halloween costume this year; it’ll save you money and the planet – a win-win! 83% of Halloween costumes are made from non-recyclable plastic, which equals about 2,000 tons of plastic waste. Isn’t that terrifying in itself? If you have old costumes, consider swapping with friends or family to give the costume one more life. You can repurpose the costumes, reusing the material for other projects or adding scraps to the costume to revamp it and wear it again.
Many Halloween decorations are also commonly made using plastic or other non-recyclable materials. Even after tossing out the decorations, they’ll haunt the planet for centuries before decomposing into tiny toxic bits. This contributes to the issue of mass production and manufacturing single-use plastic items. Consider reusing Halloween decor year after year, donating decorations that are no longer needed, buying decorations second hand, or swapping decorations with community members. If you’d like to make the effort to create a zero-waste Halloween this year, check out 14 Eco-Friendly Halloween Decoration Ideas. You can still have killer decorations using these eco-friendly ideas. They’re festive, creative and can be a great activity for the kids or family. If you’re hosting a Halloween party, ditch the plastic cups, plates and utensils. Use regular dishes or buy biodegradable ones that are eco-friendly.
Baking homemade goods would be ideal to pass out to trick-or-treaters for a zero waste Halloween, but individually pre-packaged treats win this battle due to safety. Do you know how much candy Americans buy in preparation for trick-or-treaters knocking at their door? Over 600 million pounds of candy is bought each year and over $400 million worth of candy is thrown out each year. Instead of buying the biggest plastic bag of candy at the grocery store to pass out, try looking for more sustainable options that are individually packaged in paper boxes rather than plastic. Dots, Nerds, Junior Mints, Mike and Ike, Lemonheads, and Milk Duds are some great options, to name a few! As for trick-or-treat bags, no need to buy one every year for your little ones; use a pillowcase or reusable grocery shopping bag. Using these tips and tricks year after year will make a difference, minimize waste, and encourage those around you to rethink some of these holiday traditions!
For more ideas, check out Tips For Keeping Halloween Scary But Sustainable from last year's October newsletter.
Sources:
https://realcraft.com/blogs/articles/7-eco-friendly-halloween-decoration-ideas
https://www.growjourney.com/dont-toss-14-delicious-uses-halloween-pumpkins/
https://www.bestproducts.com/lifestyle/news/g1715/easy-diy-last-minute-costumes-for-halloween/
https://hummingbirdinternational.net/facts-about-halloween-waste/
Pumpkin FallPhoto by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Halloween Kids Photo by Conner Baker on Unsplash
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