Once the year rolls around to October and the leaves start falling off of the trees, there’s only one thing on everybody’s mind – Halloween! Here are 10 ways to enjoy your Halloween while still keeping the Earth clean and happy.
- If you’re trick or treating, re-use your basket from last year, or find a pillowcase to use.
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Don’t be afraid to make your own receptacle for candy! Many people use plastic cauldrons, which is okay if you re-use them year after year, but it might be even smarter to use a pillowcase. This way you’re not buying anything new, and it’s not made of plastic.
- Upcycle your previous costumes.
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It’s no secret that fast fashion is a detriment to the environment. Instead of buying another costume, you can revamp a costume from a previous year to be more to your style, or you can trade costumes with a friend so you both have a new costume. Failing that, you can go to a thrift store and pick out items to create an entirely new DIY costume for yourself!
- Skip plastic decorations – go natural.
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Instead of going to the store to get plastic skeletons or pumpkins, use the Fall leaves and gourds to decorate your house for this autumn holiday.
- Hand out fair-trade, organic chocolate.
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Instead of partaking in chocolate and candy from the local supermarket, find fair-trade or organic chocolate to use for your trick or treaters. It may be a little more pricey, but it’s worth it when taking care of the Earth.
- Buy your pumpkins locally.
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Instead of going to the supermarket for pumpkins, go to your local pumpkin patch or Farmer’s market. Not only does it help local businesses, but it also gives less money to mass retailers and creates a smaller carbon footprint in the travel it takes for your pumpkins (and food!) to get from where it was grown to you.
- Burn beeswax candles instead of regular wax candles.
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When burned in abundance, regular candles, which are made from petroleum, can produce a gas similar to diesel exhaust. Simply switching over to beeswax, or even soy candles, can lessen the pollution regular candles emit.
- Use lights that are solar-powered for outside of your home when decorating.
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Solar power can reduce your carbon footprint, reduces pollutants, doesn’t use greenhouse gases, and only requires water to work.
- When trick or treating, walk, don’t drive.
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Many parents nowadays might drive their kids to and from houses when trick or treating. This is somewhat understandable – the world today is very dangerous, and on top of that, it can get cold on Halloween night! But instead of driving your kids, walk with them! It’s a good opportunity for bonding, and reduces exhaust pollutants in the air.
- Keep your Halloween get together green with reusable kitchenware and carpooling.
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When on your way to a Halloween get together, try to carpool with someone you know to reduce exhaust emissions (make sure to wear your mask!). On top of that, make sure that you try to use reusable plates and silverware. While this is an easy step to skip because it involves a lot of clean-up afterward, it can really make a difference because you’re not using so many paper and plastic products.
- Lastly, if all else fails, stay in, turn off the lights, light some candles, and tell scary stories.
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Scary stories on a Halloween night can be just as spooky and fun as going to a party or trick or treating. With the lights off and your beeswax candles lit, you’ll still have enough light to see, but you won’t be using electricity. You won’t be going anywhere to use a car, so you won’t have to worry about exhaust emissions, and you don’t even have to wear a costume if you don’t want to.