5 ways of celebrating a zero-waste Halloween

What's a ghost's favourite dessert? I-scream!

Spooky season has arrived! And we LOVE a good reason to play dress up and decorate our homes. However, whilst for many this is a highlight holiday for the fall, Halloween pretty much dims in fun when you learn about the frightful amount of waste generated. Without wanting to spook you too much with this blogpost, it is important to know the scary wasteful facts over this festive day in order to adopt greener consumption behaviour. 

How does Halloween contribute to waste?

Trick or treat is one of the most popular Halloween practices, and very rightly so because it is so much fun (it's not just for kids!). However, did you know that one single trick-or-treater can generate roughly one pound of trash? And consider there are over 40 million trick-or-treaters alone in the US, that number can easily be multiplied if we take into account other places around the world that celebrates it. Moreover, candies are synonymous to trick-or-treating. Yet unfortunately, most of these candy bars are packaged in wrappers that are very difficult, and expensive, to recycle because they are made up of mixed materials such as foil and plastic. In the US, nearly 600 million pounds of candy is purchased annually - the equivalent of 6 Titanic ships. Now that's a literal titanic problem we cannot ignore.

Lastly, in 2019 a UK environmental group called Hubbub carried out a survey and concluded that around 83% of Halloween costume materials were oil-based plastics. To put into perspective, that equates to 2,000 tonnes of plastic or 83 million plastic bottles in costumes alone. And sadly, most costumes are worn once then thrown into landfills.

So what are the solutions?

Fortunately, by identifying the problems we can find the solutions. There are many ways to cut down waste during Halloween and today we bring you 5 zero-waste Halloween tips to celebrate this holiday with a green conscious.

DIY costumes or buy second-hand

One of the easiest ways to reduce your Halloween carbon footprint is by making your own costume, or reusing an old one. And why not be one of a kind this season and create your own costume by using what you already have in your closet? Think outside the box and use your imagination to create a spooky character - use colours, textures, accessories and even face paint to spice up the game! You can even take what you have at your house (such as a broom) or recycling scraps (such as cardboard, old black tights, bubble wrap… the list is endless). If you are struggling to find items around your house, then opt for second hand shops to complete your look.

Be creative in treat bags 

Instead of buying plastic pumpkins or other types of trick-or-treat buckets, think about upcycling an old pillowcase or old paper bags that you can paint and design yourself to match your costume. You can also use whatever shopping bags lying around the house - after all, Halloween is more about your costume than your candy carrier bag.

Home-made treats or buy in zero-waste stores 

As we have mentioned previously regarding the waste around individually wrapped candies, it's time to ditch the store bought treats and replace them with your own home-made sweets. This solution is not only healthier but it will also reduce plastic massively by buying your own small paper bags to carry your creations. And when it comes to making your own treats, be creative. From Halloween inspired cookies, fruit roll-ups, to chocolate bon-bons… check out these homemade candy recipes for inspiration. If you are limited in time, shop in zero-waste stores to buy candies in bulk then wrap them yourself in plastic-free goodie bags. You can find this at Slowood HK for example.

Eco-friendly decorations (from pumpkin carving to upcycling old clothes) 

Let's get crafty! With enough creativity and imagination, you can turn anything into creepy decorations. Whether it's turning old cereal boxes into tombstones, toilet rolls into bats or old sheets/tissue paper into ghosts, the opportunities are endless. You can even host a fun DIY Halloween decoration party with your family/friends to get into the spirit. Here are more zero-waste Halloween decorations ideas or plastic-free decorations ideas. Top tip: reuse your decorations! If you already have a box of Halloween decorations stashed away, don't forget to reuse them rather than buying new. Additionally, after creating your own DIY decorations, store them away for the years to come.

Do more with your leftover candy

If you find yourself with leftover candy, why not turn them into something else delicious? Just like making your own sweets, you can give your leftover candy a makeover by using them into a different treat. The most simple way to save your candy is by mixing them into a cookie dough recipe - hello M&M cookies or chopped-up chocolate cookie bars! You can even freeze the cookie dough and bake them at a later time.