With Halloween just upon us and the UK becoming increasingly more creative with home decorations (we've seen monsters, giant spiders, lawn skeletons and more) - everyone seems to be getting into the spooky spirit!
Decorations are cheap. Because of this, there are scary amounts of waste at this time of year. more than ever before
so how can you make Halloween more affordable, eco-friendly and sustainable, without ruining all the fun?
Scary Facts About Pumpkins
Nothing says Halloween more than pumpkins! Did you know, though, more than 180000 tonnes of pumpkins go to waste every year? What can you do to help?
Go to a local pumpkin farm and choose a locally sourced organic pumpkin. Supermarket ones are shipped long distances and often sprayed with heavy-duty pesticides in order to fuel fast Halloween growth.
Try your hand at pumpkin carving rather than painting them! Painted pumpkins end up as waste in the bin, where a carved pumpkin can also be turned into delicious Halloween recipes like pies, soups and more.
Cut Down On Plastic Wrap
Something we struggle with over Halloween is the inevitable plastic wrap for sweets. Firstly plastic-wrapped sweets are bound to be more hygienic.
One way to avoid this is to plan a trick or treating. Can you get together with neighbours to organise a trick or treat evening with cakes and other treats not wrapped in plastic? Alternatively, you can look for items with a paper wrap or foil.
Some plastic wrapped sweets do have the recycle logo on, so look out for that.
Rent or DIY Costumes
Children and adults alike can often feel like they need a new costume every year. Okay, kids grow, but it usually means ordering and having more stuff delivered with more packaging. All for an evenings fun!
Why not create your own costume? There are loads of ideas on Pinterest or Instagram. Repurpose old clothes and turn them into outfits. All you need are a few accessories to have the perfect Halloween costume.
You could also rent a costume and help out your local fancy dress store. You would be amazed at the options in-store, and they are usually much better quality than single-use costumes, which are made of flimsy cheap materials and don't last beyond a couple of wears.
Get good quality, sturdy decorations.
The supermarkets are full of spooky fun decorations, but a lot of them are cheap plastic to be used once and go straight in the bin. Things like string lights with no place to change the batteries or very flimsy stuff.
It's always better to invest in sturdier decorations that will last year after year.
Why not make some of your own decorations too? They can be really effective. Things like glass jars painted with posca pens and filled with LED lighting. Candles (be sure to remember fire safety), wooden decorations, sustainably carved pumpkins, decorate window sills with small squashes and use them on your compost heap.
Store and reuse
Whatever your approach to Halloween, everyone is usually left with a lot of stuff they need to put away for the next year, especially when you invest in quality reusable decor. For this, we recommend storing stuff out for next year.
Use cardboard boxes to stow away your items and organise them by category.
If you don't have a garage or suitable attic space, why not consider storing them with us? We have storage spaces ideal for all your seasonal needs, from Easter to Halloween & Christmas & even the stuff that comes out in summer! We also have our handy accessory shop where you can get boxes, tape and more.
