While Halloween is one of the all-time favorite holidays on the calendar, it can be a nightmare for the environment. Consider the toilet papered trees or even houses, candy wrappers and single use decors and costumes – you have a whole lot of stuff that fills the landfill all for a one night event. The good news is that you need not be a Scrooge (wait, wrong holiday) and spoil the fun. The following are some “eek-o-friendly Halloween tips” from justenergy.com:
1. Don’t Squander Your Pumpkin – The innards of a Jack-O-Lantern need not go to waste. You can turn the seeds and the flesh into tasty treats. After Halloween, Jack doesn’t need to sink into oblivion in a landfill, rather you can bury his carcass in a compost bin that will become an organic fertilizer that comes alive in spring.
2. Light the Night the Right Way – While you have an eco-friendly Jack-O-Lantern, you can negate that by putting in a paraffin or petroleum candle to light it. Instead, use a soy candle which doesn’t release toxic fumes when burned.
3. Get Creative with Costumes – It’s bad enough that the Halloween costume you’ve spent days or weeks thinking about will be likely worn just once. To make matters worse, they are usually made from synthetic materials such as PVC or polyvinyl chloride, which is carcinogenic. If you buy a costume, buy one that is made of organic, biodegradable material. Better yet, make your own using stuff you have at home. Heck, Trekkies cosplayers have been making their own anime costumes for years, and having a DIY costume doesn’t mean that you’re a nerd.
4. All Treats, No Tricks – it’s bad enough that the chocolate bars, lollipops and gum balls will eat into the children’s teeth, they also spook the environment by adding to the mounds of garbage. Instead, you can give them stuff like art supplies, granola bars, little toys, and so many other stuff.
Looking for other eco friendly ideas for this coming Halloween? There’s a lot of stuff up on Pinterest that you can draw inspiration from.
So there are ways to be spooky without scaring the hell out of Mother Earth. Happy Halloween!
Check out Inhabitat for eco- friendly ideas