Eco-Friendly Halloween Ideas For A Spooktacular Time

Have a real ghoul time this year with this ultimate guide to having an eco-friendly and sustainable Halloween. From environmentally friendly costumes to planet-friendly decorations and treats, you’ll be sure to pick up some eerie-sistable ideas!

Do you know what the scariest part of Halloween is? It’s not the talk of ghosts and ghouls in the air, but the sheer amount of waste we collectively produce.

An estimated 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste – equivalent to 83m bottles – is generated from throwaway Halloween clothing sold by leading retailers in the UK each year.

Meanwhile, when it comes to pumpkins, the picture is no better. 60% of people who buy pumpkins to carve say they dispose of the inner flesh. Meanwhile, 80% say they don’t consider a pumpkin’s primary purpose as a food item. It is a frightening picture.

However, I’m no ghoul. I don’t think Halloween should be cancelled. Far from it. I am all about celebrating and bringing cheer to the dark nights. What I do think is that we can turn these frightening statistics around with a bit of thought and consideration for the planet.

The Ultimate Guide to Having an Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Halloween

To treat lightly on the planet, but still have some hair-raising fun, here are some truly spooktacular ideas for greening your Halloween. From costumes to food, to decor, it’s all here!

• Eco-Friendly Halloween Costumes
• Sustainable Halloween Treats
• Spooktacular Planet-Friendly Decorations

Eco-Friendly Halloween Costumes

The most sustainable option when it comes to Halloween costumes is to use what you already have.

Can you put together a fun costume from items of clothing you already own? If you’re struggling, can you borrow something from a friend? Or have a Halloween costume swap if you don’t want to wear the same costume as the previous year? If it’s for kids, can you swap costumes with other parents?

If you can’t find what you need in your own wardrobe or that of a friend, then the next most sustainable option is to buy secondhand.

Some of my favourite places for secondhand Halloween costumes are Oxfam Online, Facebook Marketplace and eBay. If you have time, do also try your local charity shops, as many save up Halloween costumes they have been donated to sell in October.

If you can’t find what you want secondhand, then renting a costume is another sustainable option. Search online for Halloween costume rental options near you.

If you want to make your own costume, then the only limit is your imagination. Try my guide to homemade Halloween costumes for kids for some clever ideas.

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Eco-Friendly Halloween Treats

It’s Bone-Appetit (see what I did there?!) with these eco-friendly and sustainable Halloween treat ideas:

For Halloween Parties

If you are hosting a Halloween party then you are spoiled for choice when it comes to eco-friendly food. BBC Good Food has tons of vegan Halloween recipes. From vegan nachos to pumpkin hummus, squash stews, and vegan toffee apples there’s a host of ghoulish treats to choose from.

Tangerine pumpkins and banana ghosts are also refined sugar-free treats that go down well with little kids.

For Trick or Treaters

For a sustainable Halloween, I would normally advocate making your own treats. However, for trick-or-treaters, I opt for packaged treats. Allergies, viruses, and general safety concerns mean I feel better handing over items that aren’t homemade.

Thankfully, there are many ethical alternatives to regular chocolate and sweets brands. Look out for Fairtrade products (like these mini chocolates), or those that are Certified Organic, or have other independent certifications.

If these options are above your budget, or too tricky to come by, then I say it’s totally fine to opt for sweet treats that you find in your local shops. Look for foil-wrapped chocolates, as they are the easiest to recycle. However sweet wrappers can be recycled using soft plastic recycling schemes available at some supermarkets, including Tesco, Co-Op stores, and Morrisons.

If you can’t eat any leftover unopened sweets that you don’t want to eat, then consider how you can reduce food waste. Can you pass them on to someone via a food waste app like Olio? Or a local food bank? Have a think about how you can best pass these on to avoid waste.

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Planet-Friendly Decorations

Now that we’ve considered both the food and the costumes, we can’t miss out on the all-important Halloween decorations to help create that spooky atmosphere.

Halloween really lends itself to eco-friendly and sustainable decorations. After all, it has its roots in the transition of summer into winter. The fact that it has always been traditionally held on 31st October is significant because this is the last day of the harvest. Decorating with fruit, vegetables, and other natural materials is a great way to go to honour these traditions.

Pick A Pumpkin Or Two

I grew up in Scotland in the 1980s carving neeps (turnips) at Halloween. These carved jack-o’lanterns are eminently spookier than pumpkins, but a total nightmare to carve. If you value your fingers, then pick a pumpkin instead. There are heaps of pumpkin growers across the UK. For the smallest carbon footprint, find a pumpkin patch local to you and pick up a pumpkin or two.

Carve pumpkins to your heart’s content – just don’t forget to use the innards to make soups, stews, or curries with the flesh. For extra zero-waste points, you can even roast the pumpkin seeds to make a tasty snack.

After Halloween has been and gone, don’t forget to compost the pumpkin in your food waste bin or compost heap.

Alternatively, some people suggest leaving your pumpkin outside in your garden for animals to eat. If you do this, make sure to remove any candle wax, paint, or other embellishments you may have used.

I have read reports that pumpkins may be harmful to hedgehogs, but I can’t find any official information on this. If you wish to err on the side of caution, then popping your discarded pumpkin up in a tree in your garden for birds and squirrels to eat gets around this prickly issue.

Check out my full guide on how to recycle and reuse pumpkins for even more ideas to reduce food waste this Halloween.

Other Eco-Friendly Halloween Decoration Ideas

As well as pumpkins, there are plenty of low-waste ways to decorate at Halloween.

The most sustainable action would be to keep using the Halloween decorations you already own. There’s no need to throw items away just because they are made of plastic. Reusing what we already own is the pinnacle of sustainability, so bring out the plastic pumpkins, skeletons, or bats with pride!

If you are looking to add some more Halloween decorations to your life, then another idea would be to source secondhand Halloween decor items that you can reuse year after year. Whether that’s an ornament, banners, or decorations for the outside of your home. I would try eBay or Facebook marketplace for these types of items.

Make Your Own Decorations

The other green option is to make your own decorations. The internet is awash with homemade Halloween decorations.

If you’ve got an empty tin can and some white fabric then you’ve got a spooky tin can ghost. If you’ve got some black paper, you’ve got some plastic-free bats for your walls. Or if you’ve got some leftover wool, you’ve got some ghost tassels to hang up.

Spent 5 minutes on Pinterest and I promise you can gather tons of plastic-free and zero-waste ideas that will leave your house looking spooktacular!

Any other sustainable Halloween tips? Do share!