Holidays are hard to celebrate Zero Waste, especially Halloween when trick or treating the streets. Make your home as eco-friendly as possible for others to visit with these Zero Waste Halloween tips.
Plastic Free Candy
Parents can be weary of their children receiving package free or homemade treats from strangers. Alternatively mini cardboard box candies or foil wrapping is the next best thing. Both can be recycled when the foil is scrunched all together to create a bigger ball.
Nerds
Smarties
Gold coins
Foil wrapped chocolate
Other treat options
Fruit
Raisins in mini cardboard boxes
Crayons/colour pencils
Eco-friendly Halloween Costumes
Pre-bought Halloween costumes from the dollar store are cheap, nasty and don't even look that great. Let's be honest they'll end up in the bin straight after you've worn them too.
If you've got some time on your hands to prepare your Halloween costume, get crafty and create a costume from scrap materials. Pick a costume which can be worn again for another occasion, to make the most of your hard work. Otherwise visit a second hand store to see what treasures you can find, if you don't want to make a costume.
If you've left it till the last minute, throw together an outfit from what you have in your closet, hire a costume for the night or borrow one from a friend.
Don't forget to use a reusable bag or a simple pillow case to dump all your hard earned candy into.
Shop second hand
Get creative with the make up you have
Hire a costume for the night
Make your own costume from scrap materials
Throw something together with what's in your closet
Zero Waste Halloween Decorations
No last minute visits to the dollar store this season for your Zero Waste Halloween decorations. Instead simply light some candles and place a couple pumpkins on the porch.
Buy your pumpkin from your local farmers market and when carving don't just throw the seeds in the trash, but roast them for a healthy snack. Remember once Halloween is over to compost that spooky pumpkin.
If you're feeling creative make some haunted tombstones from recycled cardboard or decorate recycled glass jars and light them with candles. A great last minute Zero Waste Halloween decoration is simply drawing scary faces on oranges!
Candles
Pumpkins
Cardboard tombstones
Decorated glass jars with candles
Scary orange "pumpkins"
Zero Waste Halloween Party
Host the spookiest Zero Waste Halloween party of the year by announcing to your guests that you will be trying to reduce the waste from the party. This shouldn't scare them away if they are aware of your plastic free lifestyle!
Zero Waste decorations as above
Use reusable cutlery, plates and glass (finger foods to create less washing)
Whip your own Halloween snacks or ask guests to bring a plastic free dish
Give away or eat the leftovers and compost what can't be saved
How do you celebrate your Zero Waste Halloween?
Let me know in the comments below!