One of the scariest things this Halloween has little to do with the supernatural, mystical ghosts and ghouls that we normally associate this time of year with. As the state of our environment deteriorates every day, Halloween seems an appropriate time to remind ourselves of an actual nightmare we live today. What’s more, some of our usual festivities on this day are, in fact, exacerbating this negative impact on the environment.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, nearly 1.4 billion pounds out of the 2 billion pounds of pumpkins grown in 2014 were trashed instead of eaten or composted. On top of that, a recent study by FairyLand Trust indicates that mass-market costumes will use 2,000 tons of plastic this year – and that’s just in the U.K.
This Halloween, as we celebrate its dedication to candy and mischievous fun, follow these steps to make sure you’re haunted by one less fright: hurting the earth.
- Costumes – Reuse and Recycle!
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It’s easy to find something quick online, and Amazon will be so tempting to use, but a number of studies have found that the cheap, easy mass-produced costumes you buy and discard every year also contain a number of non-biodegradable and toxic materials.
Instead, if you repurpose some of your old clothes, make some thrift shop trips, or even borrow costumes from friends, you’re saving both money and the earth! It’s a clear win-win.
- Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Muffins, Pumpkin Cakes…
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The list goes on and on! Take a baking-break with some friends and put your Halloween pumpkins to delicious use. Even if you can’t bake – like myself – I’d seek some of my friends with more culinary talent if they’d want them! At the very least, make sure you compost them instead of simply trashing them.
- No Guilt Candy!
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You know that feeling of pure bliss, inhaling your chocolate and peanut butter candies, followed almost immediately by that immense regret and wonder at how you could have possibly eaten so much? Let that guilt be overpowered by pride, knowing that instead of contributing to the 598 million pounds of candy wrappers in landfills or just littered, your wrappers will be turned into new products! You can send your collected wrappers to Terracycle, rest assured that your binge candy eating has contributed some good to the world. Munch on!
The first step is to be aware, and if you’ve made it this far, then you’ve already successfully done that! There are so many more ways to be environmentally friendly this Halloween and number of resources are available to those who seek them. Green is the new orange and black, and I encourage everyone to start with these initial steps. However, in order to brew up a truly ghastly, ghoulishly green Halloween, everyone needs to turn their awareness of these issues into a vigilant and active effort. Have a happy Hallo-green!