Fright in the Night: 8 Ways to Reduce Halloween Waste

Halloween can be a scary time for those living a sustainable lifestyle and it has nothing to do with the community haunted house or spooky movie week on TV. The days and weeks leading up to Oct. 31 can be a minefield for anyone trying to celebrate in an environmentally friendly manner. According to the National Retail Association, consumers across the country are anticipated to spend nearly $4.75 billion on Halloween this year. That’s a lot of candy, decorations and costumes!

There's a way to be green and expand eco awareness to those Halloween goblins. As explained in our eco friendly consulting, one way to avoid garbage ending up in landfills is to reduce waste. What does reducing waste mean? When you avoid making garbage in the first place, you eliminate the disposing of waste or recycling it later. It's the first component of the sustainability concept of the three R's: reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Following are suggestions we offer in our personal sustainability programs to keep the waste goblins away this Halloween:

Consider walking, riding a bike, or using public transportation for Halloween parties or trick-or-treating. If you have to drive, carpool to help reduce traffic and air pollution.
Use reusable bags, canvass bags or buckets instead of plastic disposable bags for trick-or-treating.
Use rechargeable batteries for flashlights.
Candy: when shopping for Halloween goodies, buy candy that uses the least amount of packaging. Also, conscientious consumers can find an increasing variety of eco-friendly candy, from organic chocolate to organic lollipops online and from local organic groceries and health food stores.
Decorations can be reusable or compostable - Natural items like pumpkins, gourds and corn husks are inexpensive and can be festive.
Costumes: save money on a costume you by creating one from items in your closets. Or roam the vintage-clothing stores, resale shops and flea markets for Halloween gear. You can find plenty of ideas for homemade costumes online at sites.
Monster bash: serve seasonal and local foods, organic brew, and try compostable napkins, cups, plates and service ware made from corn, sugarcane and other materials – they work great and can be recycled along with food in your green curbside compost cart.
Start composting: it's a great way to recycle organic materials such as food scraps, leaves, yard clippings and jack o' lanterns.

Halloween is a fun time for adults and children; why not integrate sustainability concepts into your Halloween celebration and spark a little eco magic into your festivities!