Boo! Don’t Let Halloween Waste Be a Monster

Reduce. Recycle. Reuse.

The author doing her Gen X scary best.

Follow us on our series ‘Let’s Talk Recycling.’ Recycling is a large part of a sustainable future and something we can all take part in as a community.

It is that time of year, it is time to get your dress-up on and get ready for the ghouls, ghosts, and goblins. Fall festivals, parties, trick-or-treating, and if we are lucky, nice cool days. Learning how to have a more sustainable fun-filled time can be done with just a few easy tweaks. Not only can these small acts lead to a positive social impact but, improve your personal well-being inspiring others to do the same.

In 2022, the nation’s Halloween spending reached a new high of $10.6 billion with an estimated $12.2 billion this year. Here is a breakdown of the expected expenditures from the National Retail Federation:

• A record breaking 73% of people in the U.S. plan to celebrate with an estimated $108.24 per person.
• Costumes make up a majority of the spending at $4.1 billion followed by $3.9 billion on decorations and $3.6 billion on candy.
• 68% are planning to hand out candy, 53% plan on decorating their house and yard, 50% plan on dressing up in a costume, 32% plan on throwing or attending a party, and 28% will take their children trick-or-treating.
• Discount stores are in the lead for shopping destinations at 40% followed by specialty costume stores (all those Spirit Halloween pop up stores) and 32% taking to the internet to order.
• Spending on costumes for adults will see an increase of 18%, children’s costumes will increase by 20%, and costume for pets is projected at a $700 million dollar price tag.
• Around 3.1 billion pounds of pumpkin goes to waste adding a tremendous amount of methane to landfills as they decompose.

So, how do we help lower these numbers to offset the new increase of Halloween’s carbon footprint and save some money in our pockets?

• Reduce Halloween costume waste by repurposing old clothes, shopping at thrift stores, or asking family members if they have an old costume. Creating a costume by repurposing a former costume can assure you won’t have a twin at the party!
• Most candy wrappers cannot be recycled but can be repurposed. Rubicon Global has a program just for Halloween candy wrappers called Trash or Treasure. Order your box today and reduce single use candy wrappers.
• Order candy in bulk, Hershey’s Kisses are wrapped in recyclable aluminum, other individual chocolates are wrapped in aluminum, spend your money with a company working toward net zero emissions, such as Mars.
• For your party check thrift stores for plates and cups, decorations, bowls, and tote bags.
• Check out 6 clever ways to recycle your pumpkins here.

Start small, just do one of these things to contribute to a cleaner future. If everyone just does one, not only are we reducing our carbon footprint, it will lead long term community development. Don’t let the Halloween waste monster catch you by a simple clumsy fall!