Tips For A Greener Halloween
Halloween has been celebrated for over 2,000 years by 37 countries. Someone who’s not a fan though is Mother Nature. With flimsy one use costumes ending up in landfills, this spooky holiday can have nightmarish environmental impacts.
The Costs
Studies show that four out of ten Halloween costumes are only worn for one day and then are thrown out. Results also state that 70% of student households dress up to celebrate Halloween, making us the biggest offenders.
Teodor-Andrei Ramba, a computer science student at Coventry University, says like the majority of people, he likes to wear a different outfit each year.
Teodor-Andrei’s Costume Last Year
‘I always find a costume that I can create from the clothes that I already own, last year I was a cowboy and this year I’m going to be a pirate from clothes in my closet’, the twenty-one-year-old added. ‘While it’s fun to have new outfits to wear each year, it’s not worth the cost of our planet’.
Research suggests that upwards of 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste is generated for Halloween - and that’s just from the costumes. The investigation by Hubbub, an environmental charity, also found that 83% of the materials used for the celebration were polluting oil-based plastic likely to end up in landfills.
Photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels
Dr Michelle Farrel is an assistant professor at Coventry University’s Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, she says that the reason plastic consumption for Halloween is particularly bad is because it’s mainly polyester, an oil-based plastic.
‘Because it’s made from oil, its manufacture releases greenhouse gases. These trap heat energy, causing the planet to heat up, and so plastic production contributes to climate change. Polyester is non-biodegradable, so when disposed of it remains in landfills for hundreds of years’.
Dr Farrel added ‘Ultimately, they degrade into microplastics, around one-third of which end up in our soils and our waterways, finding their way into the food chain where they can have toxic effects on organisms’.
‘I think the responsibility for making everyday life more sustainable ought to lie with corporations but consumers also have a role to play. If more people start to buy plastic-free products and demand for more sustainable options increases, more businesses will change the way they operate as a result’, she commented.
As part of this individual responsibility, it’s important to recycle wherever possible. But the trick of the Halloween treats is that although wrappers are shiny and look like foil, the majority are made out of metallised plastic film. This material cannot yet be recycled because it has both metal and plastic in it, and most recycling machines require the product to be made of a singular material.
Make sure to check labels and recycle where you can
A quick trick to tell if something is made from foil or metallised plastic film is to scrunch it. If it remains scrunched up that means it’s foil and can be recycled but if it returns to its previous shape it’s likely to be metallised plastic film.
What Can We Do?
One way you can be more sustainable this Halloween is to get creative with your costumes by creating outfits based on clothes you already own. Here’s some ideas to get your creative juices flowing.
If you do want to buy something new, make sure it’s something that you can re-wear all year round and not just on October 31st. A survey done by Lucy & Yak found that 12% of respondents will only wear an outfit once and then never wear it again.
Try to scout out clothes in charity shops, as studies show that they are able to reuse or recycle more than 90% of donated clothing, so not only will you be helping the planet but you’ll be donating to charity too.
Aim to buy decorations you’ll be able to reuse for the next years to come, or even dabble with some DIY. You can create spider and pumpkin garlands out of paper and string, it’ll be better for your wallet and the environment.
Consider using cutlery and crockery you already own rather than buying paper versions if you’re throwing a spooky Halloween party. There is an estimated 40 grams of carbon in the production process for every 10 paper plates.
If you’re worried about a big pile of washing up at the end of your get-together, make finger food for your guests so there’s less need for lots of plates.
If you’re partaking in Trick or Treating this year, use a pillowcase rather than buying a plastic bucket. If you’re on the giving side of the classic Halloween tradition, try to buy sweets with minimal plastic packaging, look out for the recycling sign on wrappers. Or unleash your inner Bake Off contestant and bake some creepy cookies.
Make sure that this year, the spookiest thing about you is how you celebrate, and not your environmental impact - and have a Happy Halloween!