Halloween Waste Is What Is Truly Scary 

It’s that scary time of year again. Halloween! Skeletons, ghosts, goblins and … waste! Halloween has become a single-use item holiday. Textiles are currently the fifth-largest type of plastic waste we Canadians are sending to landfills. Plastic textiles are materials such as polyester, nylon and acrylic. Halloween costumes and decorations are almost exclusively made of these materials. In a study recently conducted by Hubbub, it was revealed that Halloween costumes may contain the same amount of plastic as 83 million plastic bottles. The same study estimated that 4 in 10 customs are only worn once. On top of the costume waste is all the pumpkin, decor and candy wrapper waste. Here are 10 Ways you can make your Halloween more sustainable. —Jen Pistor

1. Bring Your Own Goblet: Hosting a party? Skip the red solo cup and ask your guests to bring their own “goblet” to the party.  It can be anything! A coffee mug, a wine glass, a water bottle, an empty jar from some pasta sauce. Anything.

2. Host a Costume Swap: School friends, soccer teammates, cousins, family friends, whoever it is, organize a group to do a costume swap. Most kids grow out of costumes, plus they like to have something new to them to wear each year. Swapping with a friend is a great way to go. 

3. Thrift Your Costume: Thrift shops and consignment shops are loaded up this time of year with some amazing costumes and at a much lower price than retail. Need some ideas? See our previous post where we have found you some preloved kids halloween costumes and where you can find them.

4. Keep Your Pumpkin Compostable: Over 80K metric tonnes of pumpkins are produced annually in Canada. However, most of these pumpkins end up in the trash after they’re carved out for Jack-O’Lantern season. When pumpkins are sent to landfill, they decompose and produce methane. Methane is 25 times more harmful to the Earth’s atmosphere than carbon dioxide and is a key contributor to climate changes. However, there is a better way to go. If you have a garden or access to a community garden and/or compost, don’t throw your pumpkins in the garbage. After roasting the seeds, cooking the pumpkin and for the leftover bits, pop your smiling squash in your garden to compost into the soil. Be sure to not paint or decorate your pumpkins with other materials unless they are natural (a.k.a. leaves, straw, etc.). Any other adornments means the pumpkin has to be put in the garbage and goes to landfill. 

5. Go Vintage with Your Decor: There is nothing better than finding unique, vintage decor items. Don’t limit an item to the condition you find it in. Find a ceramic pumpkin that has seen better days? Or a vase that has potential but is kinda ugly? A can of spray paint can do wonders. 

6. Make a Bin for Your Reusable Decorations: If you are fortunate enough to have some storage space, create a bin or two for your seasonal decor. Not only are you eliminating waste, you are creating traditions. 

7. DIY Some Decorations with Upcycling: Most of us have items lying around our house that we could, with some creativity, help us decorate for the spooky season. Old mason jars can be painted and candles placed inside. Old sheets can be made into ghosts hanging from trees. Cheesecloth, burlap, branches and twine are all great materials for getting crafty with. 

8. Use a reusable Trick-or-Treat Bag: One of the simplest green action items you can take is to skip those plastic dollar store trick-or-treat buckets.They often fall apart after one use. Instead, grab a reusable bag or pillow case. No need for more things to store or trash.

9. Recycle Your Candy Wrappers: Did you know that you can save up all your plastic candy wrappers and chip bags and take them to London Drugs for recycling? This service is available in B.C. only. According to the retailers: “You can bring your wrappers to a local British Columbia London Drugs location and deposit them with Recycle BC’s Other Flexible Plastics program. This is the collection box that accepts harder-to-recycle flexible plastics such as stand-up and zipper lock pouches, crinkly wrappers, chip bags, non food protective packaging and more. By collecting your wrappers you are doing your part to keep plastic out of our waste streams. And that can make quite a difference. In 2019 we collected 46.2 tonnes of other Flexible Plastic Packaging with Recycle BC!  So round up your Halloween candy wrappers, bring them into your local British Columbia London Drugs location and drop them in the Recycle BC box provided.”

10. Outfit repeat with your costumes: For us adults, if the costume still fits, wear it again. There is no shame in dusting off your annual witch costume or going as a zombie for the fifth year in a row. If you have a costume you like, re-wear it. Better yet, keep two costumes in your closet and rotate between them every couple of years.