While ghastly ghouls, vicious vampires, and spooky skeletons might fright us all on October 31st, the most scary part of the holiday- is the statistics.
Halloween is an exciting time when we get to dress up as our fears, idols, or things that make us laugh while celebrating with our friends and family. We partake in various festive activities during this time of year, such as trick-or-treating for delicious treats, and picking pumpkins and carving out their expressions.
These activities and traditions are a unique and special part of the culture here in America, yet the ramifications can be disastrous for the planet. Our favorite candies are wrapped in plastic, which can take 20 to 500 years to decompose, and we throw out 2000 tons of these un-biodegradables each Halloween season.
Additionally, around 1 billion pounds (453 million kilograms) of pumpkins are sent to landfills each year. This contributes to the near 30.3 million tons of food waste produced in the U.S each year. This pumpkin matter, like all foodstuff waste while decomposing, produces the chemical methane, that contributes to global warming.
And not to mention, the ghastly quantity of fabric and plastic which is thrown out each year after our single-use costumes have completed their duty.
It is astonishing the quantity of waste that this one holiday produces, and the list of different ways Halloween damages our planet goes on an on. However, all of this dreadful data does not help us reverse the adverse effects of the spooky season while still enjoying it’s festivities. This is the goal we should seek to obtain as a society: a sustainable halloween.
Here are three achievable, and reasonable ways that you can help celebrate an environmentally friendly Halloween.
Couture Costumes
Instead of taking a trip to Spirit Halloween for your costumes this year, try going to the thrift store first! Upcycling old clothing into new costumes is a great way to prevent single-use costumes from crowding our dumpsters this October. Also, these couture costumes can be inexpensive and made up of clothing that you could keep in your closet and wear again. This method of choosing your costume for this Halloween will ensure that no one else will have the same costume as you as well.
Pumpkin Recipes
After carefully carving up your pumpkins into the spookiest, silliest, or cutest expression that you can imagine, don’t throw out its guts! The seeds and flesh of your pumpkins are nutritious and delicious! Instead, consider following this simple recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds, which make a good snack and help decrease your pumpkin’s waste output. If you’d like to put your chef skills to the test, feel free to go a step further and use your pumpkin’s flesh to whip up one of these delicious recipes.
If you have any extra pumpkin waste after that, of you aren’t much of a cook, then consider composting your pumpkin rather than throwing it away, and the Earth will thank you!
Be Mindful With Your Candy
Unfortunately, most of our candy wrappers can not be recycled due to their composition mix of materials like plastics and aluminum, but there are ways that we can reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills and cut our planet a break. Try buying candy in bulk, so that the large plastic casing will cut down on the packaging-per-candy ratio. You can also make an effort to reuse small bags or boxes and give them a second life so that this Halloween season you can reduce your impact on the environment while still enjoying your favorite sweets.
For more information about how to stay sustainable this October, visit Tips for a Spooky and Sustainable Halloween.
