One of the scariest things about Halloween is the frightful amount of waste. As reported by the Guardian, “an estimated 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste – equivalent to 83m bottles – will be generated from throwaway Halloween clothing sold by leading retailers in the UK”. And when it comes to food waste, more than half of the 24 million pumpkins carved for Halloween in Britain will not be eaten.
Since Halloween is almost upon us, to get into the spooky spirit of the season we’ve asked Recycle Now and Love Food Hate Waste to share their top tips and tricks for a more sustainable Halloween.
Sweet Wrappers
Gone trick or treating? That stash of sweets is probably crawling with plastic wrapping. The good news is that whilst these kinds of plastics can’t usually be collected for recycling from your home, sweet wrappers are now recycled alongside plastic bags and wrapping at supermarkets across the country. Find your closest participating store on our Recycling Locator: Recycle an item; just be sure to put them inside another bag and drop them off at the front of the store next time you go shopping.
Make Your Costume From Recyclable Items
It’s easy to make costumes from recycable items. From cardboard box robots to DIY witch hats made from old bits of fabric and ghosts from old bedsheets, it’s a great time to get creative with the kids!
Reuse Costumes
There’s no shame in being the one who always comes as a zombie if you’ve already got the costume, and it saves buying new. If the kids’ costumes don’t fit them anymore why not hunt around in a charity shop, or online marketplaces to find something pre-loved? These are great places to take your outgrown costumes, too!
Rent A Costume
If you’re after something more elaborate, or you don’t want to wear the same thing as last year, another option is to rent your costume. There are lots of websites that allow you to rent fancy dress outfits, and these not only look more impressive, but they’re much kinder to the environment!
Share The Scare
If you’re hosting a party, why not set your guests the challenge of making their own recycled costumes? Offer a prize for the most creative use of recycled materials! Why not have an #unwornfridays Halloween special and share your pre-loved creations on social media?
Eat Your Pumpkins
Pumpkins are more than just a pretty jack-o-lantern, they are rich in vitamins and minerals and can be used in both sweet and savoury dishes. You can use all of your pumpkin and make the most of it.
This pumpkin soup recipe is delicious and will make your kitchen smell lovely in the process. Here’s some other ideas on what to do with your leftover pumpkin:
- Remove all the seeds and turn them into a smoky pumpkin seed snack in 5 simple steps.
- Did you know that you can also freeze your pumpkin? Roast or mash the flesh before freezing in an airtight container or bag. Don’t forget to label your leftovers with the contents and date it needs to be used up to help you when you pop back to your freezer for meal inspiration.
It’s worth noting here that if you do want to eat the pumpkin then it should be within 24 hours of carving. This is because carved pumpkins are exposed to bacteria which can attach itself to pumpkin flesh once cut open.
Read: 5 IDEAL pumpkin recipes for autumn
How Do You Like Them Apples?
Bobbing for apples is a party favourite, but what about the leftovers that haven’t been bobbed? Every day, we throw away 800,000 whole apples! Apple trees take around 7-10 years to grow, using so much time, energy and resources, only to throw your apple away is rotten! Store your apples in the fridge, they will last much longer there than in a fruit bowl.
If you find yourself with an excess of apples:
- Cook them in boiling water for a couple of minutes
- Slice them
- Freeze them in a single layer on a tray
- Pack into bags once frozen, ready to use another day.
You can take apples straight from frozen and cook them into some recipes such as cupcakes, like these fruit bowl buns and a traditional apple crumble. Apples past their best are also great in pickles.
And hey, if you’re looking for more autumnal recipe ideas using pumpkin or squash, check out these great ways to cook with butternut squash. You won’t regret it!