Halloween is a magical time of year - especially for kids. We love the creativity, the generosity of neighbors, and the playfulness of the Halloween season. Unfortunately, though, all that partying creates a lot of waste. Here are some ideas to make the celebration more sustainable and less plastic-y. Make any one of these ideas your #onegreenthing for today!
Ideas to Green Your Halloween by Service Superpower:
Adventurers: Gather twigs, leaves, and pinecones to create halloween decorations. Check out this pinterest page for cool ideas.
Beacons: Check out "The Chocolate Scorecard" by the Chocolate Collective to find out whether your favorite brands are growing chocolate responsibly and sustainably. If not, call them out.
Influencers: Share this interview with OGT founder & CEO Heather White on Portland's Am Northwest on sustainable Halloween ideas.
Philanthropists: Send your leftover Halloween candy to deployed troops via the nonprofit Treats for Troops.
Sages: Talk a long walk outside and enjoy the autumn scenery. Engage all five senses. What do you hear? see? smell? feel? Contemplate how nature enhances well-being.
Sparks: Organize a Halloween costume swap and pot luck and pledge to compost or reuse your leftovers to reduce food waste.
Wonks: Read this article from EcoWatch about promising alternatives to plastic.
Here's some general advice about making Halloween more sustainable.
Boxed candies like Nerds, Milkduds, Pixie Stixs, Junior mints or candies wrapped in foil are good options. Plastic food wrappers aren’t recycled and end up in landfills. A recent report from Breakfree from Plastic Brand Audit report showed that plastic candy wrappers from our favorite brands are some of the top items found on beaches in communities around the world.
Make your own costumes and be sure to ditch any clear patch, which can contain PVC and toxic chemicals.
Be sure to compost your pumpkin. If not, it ends up in the landfill. When food breaks down in a landfill, it emit methane, a greenhouse gas that's 87 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Food waste contributes 8% of all global carbon emissions.
Check out our instagram post here for more info, and learn more from the Plastic Pollution Coalition for more ways to green your Halloween.