What Is This Plastic Trickery?

Halloween is just around the corner, and this fun and exciting event usually brings out all kinds of creativity and imagination. From the outrageous and adorable costumes parading down the streets, to the extravagant decorations, and of course the over abundance of candy and treats, it’s no wonder that Halloween is such a popular “holiday”.

I love Halloween and look forward to it each year. But I don’t love the excess candy waste and plastic waste that ends up in landfills. While Halloween is traditionally celebrated to ward off evil, society has made this event into a big extravaganza. Houses are decorated from top to bottom, parties and trunk-or-treats every weekend, and even “tricks” being played by kids and teenagers regardless of the reason. After the big day is over, streets are cluttered with candy wrappers, plastic toys, and extra waste.

So what can we do to prevent less waste on Halloween? I admit, it can be an incredibly fun event, especially for school-aged children. But we also have to consider what we buy and use during this holiday that puts a strain on our environment. Below I’ve listed some ways to reduce waste, and how you can prevent excess waste before and after Halloween.

TIPS TO REDUCE WASTE THIS HALLOWEEN:

• Set up a recycling center at home, school, office, and neighborhood. During Halloween, and many days after when you’re trying to eat all the leftover candy, there will be lots of candy, chips, and cookie wrappers. Most of these wrappers are not readily recyclable, and they end up in the city’s landfill. But you can ship these wrappers to a dedicated facility, and the most popular one is called TerraCycle (https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/). They take back almost everything imaginable and find ways to either repurpose them or recycle the products. You can purchase their ZeroWaste boxes or mailer bags and send them your waste.

• Reuse costumes from previous years, do a friends costume swap, or search for local free and inexpensive neighborhood costume exchanges.

• Throwing away an old bedsheet? Make a traditional ghost costume by cutting out two holes for eyes and let your imagination go wild! Leftover delivery boxes? Make a robot out of the boxes or anything else that’s easy to make. You can find many ways to upcycle what you already have at home to make fun and unique costumes.

• Instead of candy and the ominous candy wrappers, buy useful treats that kids of appropriate ages will use. Pencils, fun erasers, and notepads are just a few ideas. Giving out rolls of pennies or quarters are also a welcomed treat for little and big kids.

• If you’re hosting a Halloween party, try to limit plastic waste. Use real glass, candlesticks, and dinnerware. If you must use disposable party decorations and dinnerware, try using paper products or items you can reuse for many years.

• After the Halloween festivities are over, look for organizations that will take your excess candy. There are non-profit groups that will ship candy to the military, or donate to low income communities.

• Compost your pumpkins after you’ve taken out the seeds. Use the seeds as a snack, or save them to plant for next year’s pumpkin harvest. Also, you can check local farms to see if they’ll take your leftover pumpkins to feed their livestock.

There are many ways to conserve this Halloween season, and to reduce overall waste. We can all have fun but still be mindful of the environment that we all share.

Have a happy and safe HALLOWEEN!!!

*photos courtesy of Ferry-Morse, and Parents magazine

 

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