When we think of Halloween, orange & black come to mind. But what about green? Here are some easy ways to have a fun & environmentally friendly Halloween!
Here in the US, parents sometimes feel pressure to keep up with the trends of new costumes, more decorations, and excessive spending during holidays that are supposed to be about a magical experience for our kids (our bank accounts and Mother Earth, not so much!).
Luckily, Gen Z and Gen Alpha are way more earth conscious than generations past, which means you have an opportunity to start new trends that bring a more environmentally aware Halloween into your normal spooky family traditions. We rounded up some ways to be more "green" this Halloween:
1. Use animal-safe decorations
Save the cobwebs for your indoor Halloween decor! Fake spider webs are surprisingly strong and create a hazard for animals —especially owls and other birds, insects, and small mammals, as they can become entangled in them. Plus, once they get dirty with leaves, rain, etc. they are highly likely to end up in the garbage and landfills.
2. Keep the chemicals off your pumpkins!
I know, I know, it's hard to see your squirrels snacking away at your porch pumpkins that you dragged all the way home from the pumpkin patch. While many people will recommend hacks like hairspray and acrylic spray to keep your pumpkins looking fresh all the way until Halloween night, it's dangerous for animals when ingested, and may also make them ineligible to be composted (see next item on this list!) Just embrace it, and think of it as giving a yummy treat to the local wildlife, just like you give candy to trick or treaters!
3. Compost your pumpkins
Every year after Halloween, SCARCE hosts a ton of Pumpkin Smash & Pumpkin Collection events around the Chicagoland area to safely recycle your pumpkins and keep them out of landfills, reducing greenhouse gas emissions!
4. DIY, upcycled or secondhand costumes
Your local Buy Nothing community, Facebook moms group, and thrift store is your best friend when it comes to Halloween. Bonus - you'll likely find something way more unique than the Target costume aisle, guaranteeing that your child won't get caught wearing the same thing as someone else at school! Or, use basic solid items to DIY your children's wildest costume dreams. See how my neighbor publisher in Schaumburg did just that!
5. Recycle candy wrappers (the right way!)
Did you know most candy wrappers cannot be recycled in your curbside recycling bin? They have to go in your regular garbage. However in years' past, Go Green Glen Ellyn partnered with local stores to collect your candy wrappers so they can safely recycle them through TerraCycle or Rubicon. We'll keep you posted on whether something like this is happening in 2024, so better hang on to them just in case!
6. Don’t buy plastic buckets
There's no reason to buy more unnecessary plastic that will sit unused for 364 days of the year (or worse, end up in the garbage). Use a reusable shopping bag you already have at home. Or go vintage and bring an old pillowcase - that will be much more sturdy and won't break halfway through Halloween night when you're 10 blocks from home!
7. Shop local for candy
Independent candy stores like Glen Ellyn Sweet Shoppe can usually get bulk candy at a much lower cost than you'd find at the grocery store, and you're supporting local!
8. Make your own decorations
There are so many ways to create your own decorations -- that's good for your wallet AND the pile of clutter collecting dust in your garage. Old wood or broken bookshelves can be upcycled into gravestones for the yard. That bag of goodwill clothes can be stuffed with leaves and turned into scarecrows or zombies to hang out on your lawn chairs. Besides, who wants to see 20 houses in a row with the same Home Depot decorations? Your neighbors will be way more impressed by decor that is clever and outside of the box!
 Making ghosts out of old shelves we removed from our garage |
We hope this gives you some ideas on how to have a more eco-friendly Halloween this year! ♻️ 🎃
Have some more "green" Halloween ideas to share? Let us know!
