Halloween is a fantastic time to get creative and reduce waste by reusing items you already have at home.

Instead of buying new costumes, dive into your kids’ and/or friends' costume box or your own closet to piece together a unique outfit. I find this is a fun way to get family and friends involved in a spooky, creative project!

I was looking for inspiration and found one incredible DIY Cheese Board Halloween Costume and a Paint Chip Costume that will get your neighborhood talking!

photo courtesy of freepik.com

As a sustainability enthusiast, I recently learned that Halloween generates a significant amount of textile waste in the USA, around 12 million pounds from discarded Halloween costumes. These costumes are primarily made from non-recyclable materials like polyester and nylon, which can take hundreds of years to decompose.

For those that have been reflecting about plastics, mostly single use, attention! Halloween decorations, often made from plastic, are frequently discarded after a single use, contributing to the growing problem of plastic pollution.

photo generated by Microsoft CoPilot AI

Ideas to Reduce Waste Related to Halloween

Are you ready to take action and make this a healthier Halloween for you and your community? Here are some ideas:

• Reuse and Repurpose Decorations and Costumes: Instead of buying new decorations every year, consider reusing or repurposing old ones. If you have any old black outfits lying around, give them a Halloween makeover. You can paint them with spooky designs!

• Compost Pumpkins: About 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins go to waste after Halloween each year. After Halloween, compost your pumpkins! This helps reduce landfill waste volume, pollution and can provide valuable nutrients for our gardens. Most cities have a solid waste program with a Halloween/Pumpkin Drop-off program. Here you will find Houston and Austin’s information.

• Set Up Recycling Stations: If you’re hosting a Halloween party, set up clearly marked recycling bins for guests to dispose of packaging responsibly. Here is how to properly recycle.

• Provide a donation space in your front porch or yard with items that you no longer use and that someone in your neighborhood might find useful: Halloween decoration items, costumes, bags, etc. This way, you are encouraging the extension of product lifecycles by promoting reuse! Well done!

graphic courtesy of Camden

By incorporating these practices, you can enjoy a fun, sustainable, and healthier Halloween without generating excessive waste!