Go Green this Halloween
Halloween can be an expensive and wasteful experience, so I wondered what can be done to green your Halloween and enjoy a more eco-friendly, sustainable holiday without spooking Mother Nature!
Here are 3 eco-friendly ways:
1. PUMPKINS
Pumpkins are all the rage when the Halloween season falls but people are quick to forget that with supply and demand comes dangerous effects on the environment.
In order to grow pumpkins big enough fast enough, many are sprayed with pesticides and shipped over long distances, making their carbon footprint exorbitantly high. Not to mention, most of them end up composting in landfills and emitting methane, a particularly potent greenhouse gas.
What to do: Buy locally, grown pumpkins, when possible. Remember to compost your pumpkins, save the seeds from carving for roasting them with a little oil and salt, or use the insides for delicious breads, pies, muffins, soups, and other recipes.
(image via Pinterest)
2. CANDY
Many candy wrappers from our childhood Halloween jaunts are probably still intact in landfill sites today, leaching their wasteful by-products into the soil where we grow our food, and into the water we drink. Some of those sweet treats, like the ones that contain palm oil, are particularly detrimental to the earth because of their link to deforestation. Then, there’s the problem of packaging. Many recycling centers don’t accept foil or plastic wrappers with food waste, so they tend to end up in landfills with all those decomposing pumpkins.
What to do:
Choose candy with less packaging. Try to find organic or fair-trade candy made from natural ingredients without artificial colouring or additives. Or get creative in the kitchen and make treats yourself. You can also opt for small gifts instead of candy that will keep the kids, and yourself busy even after Halloween.
(Image via Pinterest)
3. COSTUMES & DECORATIONS
Costumes and decorations are also an area of environmental concern. Since most people wear costumes only once or twice, the ones purchased from stores are typically designed with cheap materials, which are among the worst for the planet.
If you’re buying some junky decoration that you’re going to use once and it’s going to go in the trash, ask yourself if you really need it.
What to do: Costume swaps are a growing part of the circular clothing economy worth exploring. Costume rentals might also be the way to go. What about getting crafty and making costumes from old materials? Old stockings can become spider webs, cardboard boxes become tombs. There are so many things you already have in your home that can be ghoulish decorations.
(Image via Pinterest)
4. PARTIES
Throwing a green Halloween party will ensure you have fun without harmful effects to the environment. Invite very few people to dress up in green-themed, home-crafted costumes, or rentals. Start by sending electronic invites instead of paper. Use glassware and washable utensils or look for recyclable or compostable plates, cups and utensils rather than the kind that end up in the trash
Halloween may be a night for ghosts, goblins and zombies, but with a little planning and thought, it can be an environmentally-friendly celebration
The changes forced upon people during Halloween this year could actually open the door to adopting new habits, as the normal rules do not apply. If you’re making a bigger change, you’re not stuck in these old ways anymore, and it can create the perfect start to adopting a more sustainable lifestyle.