You don’t need ghost stories or horror films to make Halloween scary. Here’s a scary fact for you: 83 million plastic bottles worth of plastic are used to make Halloween costumes alone. That’s 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste that doesn’t even include the props, the decorations, tricks or treats. Got you worried?
So how can we avoid the single use plastic monster on Halloween? Here are our top tips for a scary, but eco-conscious, celebration:
What to wear?
You might be scrambling for a quick-fix costume solution, which inevitably comes with a large plastic price tag. We don’t need to go down the single use route. Try to plan out a costume and work out how you can use what you already have. If you don’t have everything you need – can you borrow it from a friend?
If you do need to buy items, look at the materials the costumes are made of, such as using cardboard accessories instead of plastic ones. You can also look to local social media groups which are great places to swap outfits. If you can’t find one, why not start a local clothes swap?
As you make plans for the outfits remember, the outfits that will make you laugh in years to come are the most basic!
If all else fails, why not make a costume out of rubbish you have in the house? Plastic pollution can be a killer after all.
What treats?
Children that are trick or treating want…. something sweet! Here are some ideas for sustainable sweet treats:
- Pick ‘n’ mix – most supermarkets will have pick ‘n’ mix stands where you can bring your own container and fill it to the brim!
- Go to an old fashioned sweet shop and fill up a container.
- Make your own – you could make themed cakes, biscuits, toffee, sweets etc – just have a browse on the internet and get creative. Ghost shaped cookies anyone? Decorated fruit?
- Reduce packaging – if you are buying packaged treats, look for recyclable packaging and buy in bulk instead of individually wrapped items.
How to party?
Apply the same ideas: think simple, consider the materials you use and reuse as much as you can.
For the decorations: Autumn is here so there’s plenty of orange and red leaves to use for garlands and table décor. There’s the good old pumpkin carving, although this is raising a lot of questions about food waste so research what you might do with yours afterwards rather than throwing it in the bin. Anyone fancy pumpkin soup?
For food: there are plenty of online blogs dedicated to plastic-free party treats. I think we are all getting good at this part now. Make from scratch and don’t over-cater to help reduce food waste.
Make Halloween scary the right way, not the wasteful way.
By Hannah Whiting
Information taken from: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/oct/18/scariest-thing-about-halloween-is-plastic-waste-say-charities