Tricks for a Green Halloween
Charlie Brown and his friends were on the right track with their simple ghost costumes made from an old sheet! There are many tricks you can use to make Halloween more of a treat for the environment!
You can get as creative as the Peanut’s gang by going to the back of your closet for old clothes to use for costumes. Or consider swapping past costumes for your kids with friends, neighbors, classmates – recycle for a new-to-you costume that doesn’t cost anything!
There’s no reason to go out and buy Halloween decorations, you just need to head to your recycling bins! A hammer and nails is all that’s needed to turn aluminum cans into luminaries. With a little bit of paint and some imagination, toilet paper rolls can be strung together to make a skeleton. Or use a marker to draw eyes and a mouth on empty milk cartons, add a battery votive candle, and you’ve got yourself a ghost! Pinterest is a great place to get sustainable ideas.
Think Zero Waste when it comes to using pumpkins this Halloween. Buy your pumpkins locally. When you’re carving your jack-o-lantern, wash and dry the pumpkin seeds; they’re good roasted as a snack, or dried and set outside for the birds to enjoy. And don’t just toss your jack-o-lantern in the trash after October 31st. Remove the lid, and set in a potted plant, or a jar with cut flowers for a decoration that will continue the autumn theme. Remember too, that pumpkins can be added to the compost pile.
Some neighborhoods will inevitably end up with littered candy wrappers. Maybe you can organize a community cleanup with your neighbors, or take your Scout troop to a parking lot in need of a litter pickup. October is a month-long litter awareness campaign called “Virginia is for Lovers, not Litter!” You can download a fun Gif to share on social media to help spread the word.
Even just a few small changes such as these can make your Trick or Treat day more friendly for the environment. I hope you’ll send us a picture to report something you did to make your Halloween more green!