How to have a plastic-free Halloween
Updated: Nov 29, 2019
Recently, a follower on Facebook asked if we could make a post with plastic-free tips for Halloween. This spurred the idea to create a blog to share tips on reducing single-use plastic for different holidays, events, or anytime we find an interesting idea. So welcome to our first blog post! Keep reading to find 4 main areas to reduce your single-use plastic this Halloween.
1. Plastic-free wrapping treats to hand out to trick or treaters
Give out candy/chocolate packed in cardboard boxes. Smarties, Junior Mints, or Milk Duds and even Dots, Nerds, and raisins are all come in little cardboard boxes. While the candy/chocolate will probably be packaged in a plastic bag, the impact is less than buying individually wrapped plastic candies (that also come in a plastic wrapper).
Look at Bulk Barn for tin foiled wrapped chocolate you can find the classic chocolate balls, Reese's chocolate, or Hershey's kisses. Bring your own container to avoid all plastic waste! Side note: make sure you put all the tin foil wrappers together in a ball to ensure they are recycled. Otherwise, they can fall off the conveyor belt at the waste management centre.
Alter-Eco Truffles are chocolates made with sustainability farmed ingredients and the company is constantly looking to new solutions for packaging. They are a bit on the pricy side, but we're sure some lucky kiddos would love the delicious truffles.
Cans of pop or juice are great options since aluminum is one of the most recyclable materials. Other than being turned back into aluminum cans, the recycled aluminum are also used to make airplane parts, building facades, and bicycles!
For a healthier option hand out fruit with peels (for sanitary issues), draw a jack-o-lantern faces on clementine oranges or a ghost on a banana.
2. Other goodies to give out
Not interested in handing out candy? Consider some other forms of goodies to hand out this year. Make homemade craft kits (like friendship bracelets) with instructions for the kids to make the craft. Check out the link for printable instructions you could include in your kit.
Try handing out packs of seeds for trick-or-treaters to plant in their backyard. They could be anything from wild flowers to bee-friendly seeds!
Go full on and empower kids to make a plastic switch by handing out silicone, bamboo, or stainless steel straws! We have seen kids get really excited about reusable items. Send us an email (see below for the contact form) if you are interested in purchasing some through us.
3. Costumes and going trick-or-treating
This might be an obvious one and something you do already, but it is to buy a costume second-hand and avoid plastic-based costumes. By avoiding these products not only are you eliminating plastic from the landfills but also our water systems. Microplastics are tiny particles of plastic that break off of larger pieces of plastic. In this case, synthetic material breaks down in the washing machine and pollutes the water with the teeny tiny microplastics. (Click here to find out more)
Consider swapping with family or friends or looking on Facebook Marketplace. These are all great ways to get another life out of your costume but getting something new to you. Better yet, make your own DIY costume (Pinterest is always a great place for ideas!)
Keep your Halloween costumes in a dress-up box for your kids to play with year-round. This avoids the single-use to costumes!
Pillow cases and canvas totes are good options for collecting candy trick or treating.
4. Decorating
We all love decorating for the holidays and events but the unfortunate truth is that Halloween decorations are often all plastic. Try decorating with pumpkins and gourds around your house. Look to Pinterest for up-cycled crafts such as jam jar jack-o-lanterns, pinecone hedgehogs, or leaf prints (check out this blog for the crafts).
Let us know if you plan on trying any of these tips or maybe you already do them for Halloween. We would also love to know what other blog posts you would be interested in. Happy Halloween!