Five tips for a sustainable Halloween
However, as you prepare to send shivers down the spines of your friends and family, you may not have given much thought to the environmental footprint that this holiday conceals.
- However, as you prepare to send shivers down the spines of your friends and family, you may not have given much thought to the environmental footprint that this holiday conceals.
- In the UK alone, more than 8 million pumpkins are thrown away each year over Halloween.
- If you’re looking to partake in the spooky festivities of Halloween, here are five tips to ensure you can give people a good fright without harming the environment.
1. What to do with your pumpkin
- If you do plan on carving a pumpkin this year, make sure you throw it into a food waste bin.
- But if you still want to experience the fun of carving a pumpkin, then make sure it isn’t wasted by baking some pumpkin pie, roasting its seeds in the oven, or simply roasting segments of pumpkin as a savoury treat (even the skin is edible).
2. Cut down on buying new
- However, many of these decorations – from cackling witches to vampire bat lights – are electrical.
- In 2019, global electrical and electronic waste generation stood at around 54 million tonnes, amounting to around 7.5kg per person.
- And bottles can be filled with water and a few drops of food dye to make a collection of witches’ brews.
3. Ditch single-use plastic
- But sweets are often individually wrapped in plastic.
- Many single-use plastics don’t get recycled and, because plastic doesn’t break down naturally, it can stay in the environment for hundreds of years.
4. Make your own costume
- These outfits not only contribute to the accumulation of plastic in landfills, they are also a source of harmful microplastics.
- Even if you don’t throw away your costume, tiny plastic fibres are released from the fabric every time you wash it.
- And, although it may be an old standby, everyone has an old sheet somewhere that can be used as a ghost costume.
5. Less is more
- A crucial element in making this future a reality is only using what we need instead of an excess.
- So, when making choices about how to have a happy Halloween, think before you consume.
- By following these tips, you can have a fun, freaky – but also sustainable – Halloween.