Blog Contributor: Mikellena Nettos

Halloween is just around the corner and even though we are unable to celebrate together, we can still celebrate at home! Brock is working with the Niagara community to encourage a safe Halloween and we thought we might add to that conversation by taking about sustainability. Holiday celebrations can lead to a lot of waste, from tacky plastic dollar store decorations to millions of pumpkins simply discarded incorrectly. That being said there, are a lot of ways we can have more sustainable at-home celebrations! Here are five tips on how to incorporate sustainability into your Halloween celebrations:

1. Decorations: Instead of buying decor, create them using old clothes, or decorate using compostable items
   • Use old stockings with runs for spider webs (WWF, 2020).
   • Decorate with pumpkins, gourds, leaves and other compostable or edible items (Recyclebank, 2017).
   • Ifyou do buy non-compostable/non-recyclable items, be sure to keep them as decorations for every year! #ReuseReduceRecycle
   • Make your own scarecrow on your front lawn instead of blow-up decor which consumes a lot of energy.
2. Purchase locally grown pumpkins or grow your own!
   • Don’t forget to compost them or use them to make pumpkin pie or bread (Harvard, 2015)!
   • Save the seeds for a tasty treat, you can find easy recipes all over the internet or even create your own!
   • Painted pumpkins are unfortunately not compostable, so if you don’t want to carve it, dress it up with a fun hat or scarf (Recyclebank, 2017)!
3. Buy organic treats without plastic wrappers if possible!
   • Because we are not encouraging trick or treating this year, try making your own treats!
   • Try to avoid buying boxed candy sets as they are each individually wrapped with plastic that is not recyclable!
4. Watch Halloween movies online with friends by using streaming platforms like Netflix Party or sharing your screen on Teams!
   • This is a great way to celebrate the Halloween spirit while staying safe!
   • Some great Halloween movies can be found here.
5. Make your own costume!
   • Instead of buying a costume you are only going to wear one time, make your own by hand or thrifting (WWF, 2020).
   • Another idea is to use/buy clothing you know you will wear again in the future!
   • You can also rent costumes where available or participate in a costume swap with family or friends (be sure to maintain social distancing when doing so, and don’t forget your masks!)

If you engage with these tips, we encourage you to share the ways you implemented a more sustainable Halloween and tag #BUSustainableHalloween and @BUSustainable to be featured on our story! Have a happy and safe Halloween, Badgers!

References:

Harvard Green Team. (2015, June 22). 6 tips for a greener Halloween. Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://green.harvard.edu/tools-resources/green-tip/6-tips-greener-halloween

Recyclebank. (2017, October 23). 29 Fun Ways To Have A Happy, Sustainable Halloween. Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://livegreen.recyclebank.com/29-fun-ways-to-have-a-happy-sustainable-halloween

Staff, C. (2020, September 20). Your Guide to the Best Halloween Movies of All Time. Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/g3624/best-halloween-movies/?slide=1

WWF. (2020). 10 Green Halloween Tips. Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/10-green-halloween-tips