4 Ways to Reduce Waste this Halloween

It’s so easy to reduce waste at Halloween, it’s scary! Though Halloween doesn’t leap to mind as the most significant target for waste reduction, there are some simple changes everyone can make to have some waste-free fun!

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DIY costumes

Costumes can be expensive and, as with all new items, consume resources to create. And the thing about Halloween costumes is that we only wear them a few times and then they gather dust. So why spend a lot of hard-earned money and resources on them? In a past post, Alison shared 20 Easy DIY costumes to make this Halloween, check it out for some inspiration!

Another great option is to purchase second-hand. Each year my kids and I head down to our favourite kids consignment store for their Halloween event. They excitedly pick out a new costume for the year and I happily pay the reduced price.

A great way to get a bit more use out of them is to purchase a larger costume, similar to when buying clothes. Then we add the costume to their dress-up collection and they use it for imaginitive play all year long!

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Halloween treats

We all know the crinkle of the wrappers of our Halloween candy stash – and that crinkle is a sound that heralds a pretty big mountain of little plastic wrappers. So how to reduce the amount of plastic related to Halloween in a time when health and safety are paramount in all of our minds?

1. In a previous post, Alison had posted about wrapper recycling (and other ways to reduce Halloween waste) here.
2. You could also consider purchasing Halloween treats in bulk (to eliminate the large plastic bag holding all of the small treats) as well as purchasing items that have a cardboard container or foil wrapping rather than plastic.
3. Or don’t give candy at all! My kids love fun pencils, stickers and temporary tattoos, and would enjoy a non-food alternative.

Zero waste Halloween activities

I’ve posted about fun ways to enjoy the fall in a past post here, and had some more great ideas to share with you today!

• Bake and decorate cookies: get out the sugar cookie recipe, creepy cookie cutters and make your own delicious and creative Halloween treats.
• Paint rocks: Have fun at the beach or a park searching for that perfect rock, then bring them home to decorate with a ghost, cat, bat or spooky pumpkin scene.
• Go for a walk: explore your neighborhood and decide which house has the best decorations!
• Printable activities: There are so many free printable sheets online that can provide hours of fun, check out a set of colouring pages from here.
• Tell ghost stories: make a tent, get out the flashlights and make up some scary stories!

Halloween decor

My family loves decorating ahead of the big day, and there are so many fun ways to do it without buying items that later have to be thrown away:

• Carve pumpkins: get creative with your pumpkin carving and compost the cuttings, and later the pumpkins themselves…and don’t forget to roast the pumpkin seeds!
• Make your own decorations: Create homemade decorations for inside and outside your house, check out this post for inspiration!
• Spooky music: Create a customized playlist and get your monster mash on!

What are your favourite ways to have Halloween fun?

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