Halloween 2025 🎃

Happy Halloween folks! If you are an autumn lover like me then October really feels like being in the best season of the year. But just because spooky season is here doesn’t mean we have to give our planet a trick – be kind this year and make your Halloween a sustainable treat! Looking for ideas? Read on if you dare…….

• Pumpkins – My spirit vegetable, if there is such a thing! If it’s not enough that I usually dress like one at this time of year, I like decorating with them and eating them. But more often than not a huge amount of pumpkins are wasted every year at Halloween. To reduce this wastage, try to plan to make the most use out of your pumpkins. You could decorate one, then use it later for cooking. Or when carving, save the seeds for making into snacks and put your carved pumpkin in the food recycling bin once it’s looking a little scarier than intended. For me, I love making pumpkin soup, but get creative and see what seasonal recipes you can create using this wonderful plant. I’m quite a fan if you can’t tell! 🍲

• Decorations – Central to Halloween, but all that single-use plastic is truly terrifying! For just one night of the year, we don’t need to buy new stuff every time it rolls around. Hold onto your decorations and reuse them each year, prioritising plastic free options. As an example, this year I have put up some paper honeycomb decorations, and used paper clips to keep the ‘honeycomb’ sphere in place, so that I can simple repack them after Halloween and reuse them next year without fear of squashing them beyond use. If you decorate outside your house, avoid any decorations that may harm wildlife, such as fake spiders webs, which birds may mistake for real ones or get caught in, and anything that could break free and become litter. And if you are visited by trick-or-treaters, make some plastic free sweet treat options or buy snacks in recyclable packaging that will keep them happy without any of the waste. 🍬

• Costumes – Dressing up? It can be easy to think you’ll need a brand new outfit this Halloween. And with most costumes being made of plastic-based materials, this is another area where the amount of waste produced will have you looking ghostly! This year, upcycle something you already own, visit your local charity shop or search for second hand options, or do a swap with a friend from a previous costume. Making your own often means you can be more creative too, or you can opt for your own comfortable clothing just with a seasonal twist. 🧟‍♀️

Halloween doesn’t need to be a scare on our environment – make it fun and creative while reducing waste, eating seasonally and respecting our wildlife neighbours. Let’s make this Halloween no trick and all treat!🎃🧛‍♂️👻🐈‍⬛🦇