A frightful festival that occurs once a year, Halloween is an exciting time for all ages. Whether you have planned your ghoulish costume for months, have bought fake cobwebs to scatter around your home, rented a scary film or planned a night in of pumpkin carving, there is a range of spooktacular activities you can do with your friends and family.
Yet, if you are shifting towards an eco-friendly lifestyle and you want to make more sustainable choices, Halloween may appear at first to be a complete contradiction to this. With cheap décor accessories made from plastic and costumes you wear once a year, Halloween, despite it being a fun holiday, will contribute to a range of single-use waste. With this in mind, we decided to collate together a few ideas to help you have an exciting Halloween celebration without costing the earth.
Go second hand and DIY for costumes
Though the easiest option is to choose a ready-made costume from a party shop, these are often cheaply made, contain synthetic fabric and will most likely only be worn once then thrown away. With this in mind, there are a range of ways you can still make a Halloween costume that is a cut above the rest, affordable and kinder to the planet. The way to do this is by finding second-hand clothes and accessories and unleashing your inner DIY-skills. Have an idea in mind of what you want your costume to look like this Halloween, then dive into charity shops, arts and crafts stores and online marketplaces to see what treasures you can find.
Make your own trick or treat bucket
Skip the overly saturated bright orange pumpkin bucket for trick or treating this year. Not only will they only be used once, but they are also made out of materials that are awful for the environment. Nonetheless, you can still make an eco-friendly alternative that will look as cool, if not better. There are many tutorials which you could partake in with your little ones – like turning old t-shirts into bags and customising old pillowcases into freaky and fun designs.
Don’t just throw away the pumpkin
Though pumpkin carving is an exciting Halloween tradition, it can lead to plenty of unnecessary food waste. Instead of throwing out the pumpkin’s gooey insides and seeds, set these aside to turn them into delicious curries, soups and salad toppers. Rather than chucking your pumpkin into the general waste bin – why not make this into compost?
Choose treats with less packaging
It is no secret that little ones look forward to trick or treating all year round, however, the amount of sweet packaging that is thrown away as a result is astronomical. However, there are treats that you can find that have less or no packaging at all. Why not make batches of homemade cakes and brownies that they can take or find sweets with biodegradable packaging?
Here at Devon Contract Waste, we are passionate about preserving the environment, which is why we pride ourselves on operating to a stringent zero to landfill policy. To find out about our recycling services, simply contact us today.