How to make your spooky holiday more eco-friendly

Halloween is a time for tricks and treats, but it also means more trash and litter going to landfills.

A 2019 investigation by an environmental group in the UK found that about 83% of Halloween costume materials are oil-based plastics, which are unlikely to be recycled. Experts say a single trick-or-treater creates a pound of trash on Halloween.

From Halloween costume swaps to pumpkin smashes, there’s no shortage of ways to celebrate the spooky holiday while reducing waste.

Merleanne Rampale, director of public relations and education at SWALCO, an Illinois environmental organization, has a list of suggestions for a green Halloween.

Make your costume at home—or buy one at the thrift store

One way to reduce waste is to skip buying a new plastic-wrapped costume and make your own, or find a used one instead. Take sheets, old clothes, and unwanted clothes with you, and look for free costumes on sites like freecycle.org or swap.com. You can also check your local Free/Buy Nothing groups on Facebook and other social media sites.

Host a Halloween costume swap

Swapping Halloween costumes is a great way to reduce waste — and save pennies by not buying a new costume. Hosting a costume swap is about as easy as it sounds:

• Select a date and age range for the costumes
• Invite your friends, family and neighbors
• Decide what type of event it will be — “take one, leave one” or “take what you need” — and be sure to communicate this in advance.

Rampale said you can reach out to your local environmental agency or other nonprofits to try to coordinate a larger, community-wide exchange. And after the costumes are swapped out, you can organize a parade of recycled costumes!

Use LED lights and soy or beeswax candles

If your Halloween displays include jack-o’-lantern lights or candles, Rampele recommends using greener LED lights over other light bulbs and using soy or beeswax candles.

Create a Halloween geocache using recycled items

You can turn Halloween into a fun geocaching game for the whole family! Geocaching.com has some ideas on how to use things like old books, tin cans, empty bottles, and more to create a spooky geocache.

Skip the plastic trick-or-treating buckets

Use items like reusable tote bags, pillowcases, or other reusable bags when trick-or-treating to reduce plastic use.

Turn your pumpkin into a Thanksgiving centerpiece

If you only painted or carved one side of your pumpkin, you can turn it over and use the other side to make a DIY Thanksgiving decoration.

Host a pumpkin composting event

According to Rampale, 40% of all food produced for consumption ends up in landfill – and 25% of that comes from household waste.

CONTINUE READING: Teal Pumpkins: They’re not just for decoration

You can help reduce that number by composting your own home’s pumpkins, or take it a step further and host an event to collect pumpkins from your neighborhood for composting. If you don’t have composting materials at home, local environmental agencies can help you find a composting bin for your home or a facility that does composting.

CONTINUE READING: A History of Halloween Candy: Trends and Costs Through the Years

Another option: smash it on the ground in your backyard or garden! You can even host a pumpkin smashing event for your neighborhood.

Roast or plant your pumpkin seeds

Put your pumpkin seeds to good use: you can toast them for a tasty snack — or plant them and see what happens! Make sure you have enough space in your yard or garden for them to grow.

Check out SWALCO’s Greener Halloween page for more ideas.