Halloween can result in a lot of waste: all the candy wrappers, the single-use costumes, the thousands of carved pumpkins. During holidays we get caught up in all the fun and forget to stop and think about all the unnecessary waste we produce. There are many ways to be green during Halloween.

Ideas from the City of Lawrence, Kansas

• When you carve your jack-o’-lantern, save the insides of the pumpkin to make your favorite pumpkin baked goods. You can even save the seeds to roast for a snack.
• When your jack-o’-lantern gets too old to display, place it in the compost bin instead of throwing it into the trash.
• Use a reusable bag instead of a plastic one for trick-or-treating. Reuse it from year to year.
• Make your own costumes from old clothes or clothes bought from a consignment shop.
• Donate old costumes to local theatres or schools for reuse in plays and other activities.

Ideas from Forge Waste & Recycling

• Trade your old costumes with your friends, so you all get new costumes without having to buy new ones.
• Make your own recyclable decorations. You can make simple paper decorations which can be recycled after one use, or make longer lasting decorations which you can continue to use throughout the years.
• If you plan on throwing a party, only buy enough food for those attending the party to avoid waste.

Ideas from “How to Recycle Halloween Candy”

• You can recycle candy! You can separate them by categories and repurpose them. For example, you can gather all your pure chocolate and melt it down and pour it on a pastry or use it for baking. Add other chocolate bars or bags of cookies to milkshakes.

Halloween is the beginning of the fall and winter holiday season, which can also be unnecessary waste season. This is simply a friendly reminder that we can do what’s right while having fun. It only takes a couple of minutes to search for and use easy tips to enjoy the holidays in an environmentally friendly manner. Like any other new habit, you might want to start with the steps that are easier for you to achieve and from there move onto harder steps. Maybe this year you simply compost your pumpkin, maybe next year you create your own decorations, then the following year you create your own costumes. Baby steps toward a successful green environment.