How to Have a Green Halloween

No matter how you celebrate (or don’t), it’s still possible to make greener choices and reduce your waste this Halloween!

TREATS, NOT TRICKS

If you choose to hand out candy, or take children out to trick or treat, think about candy’s contents and packaging. Individually-packaged treats are likely required for safety reasons, but candy isn’t the only thing you can hand out! Consider small gifts like pencils, seeds to plant, or bookmarks placed in small paper bags instead of plastic so they can be recycled later.

Deforestation due to palm oil harvesting is significantly harming endangered species like orangutans. A lot of candy options have palm oil, usually harvested irresponsibly. Look for options made without palm oil, or from companies who are members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. 

Fair Trade certification is another aspect to consider, as cocoa farming and harvesting often violates human rights and harms the environment. Kids should be trick or treating, not labouring on cocoa farms! Manitoba Council for International Cooperation explains more about Fair Trade here.

These may be less practical to hand out for trick or treating, but The Good Trade has a list of a few brands to consider that are both Fair Trade and likely palm oil-free: barkTHINS (most flavours), DAGOBA Organic, Divine Chocolate, Endangered Species Chocolate, Equal Exchange chocolates, and Theo. If you’re not going out, you can make some spooky treats for at-home haunted fun – Pinterest has a lot of ideas from frozen peeled “eyeball” grapes to spaghetti “brains”.

COSTUMES

Whether it’s wearing a full costume to school or just putting on a crazy hat for your virtual meeting, you can create a costume on the cheap with little waste. Once Upon A Child is a great source for kid’s Halloween costumes, and thrift stores usually have a well-stocked Halloween decoration and costume section for all ages. Or, make a fun costume! Big cardboard boxes make great costumes like a present, computer, piano, rubik’s cube, or dice! 

If you’re wearing costume makeup, be sure to choose non-toxic options. The blog “The Big Green Purse” suggests face paints from Earth Paint, Go Green, or Glob’s Natural Face Paint as good alternatives. 

PUMPKINS

Jack O’ Lanterns are an iconic part of Halloween, but sometimes we forget that pumpkins are also food, not just decorations! If you’re carving your pumpkin, save the seeds for a roasted pumpkin-seed snack. Once it’s slumping on your porch, it’s time to compost it in your backyard compost pile or a Compost Winnipeg pumpkin drop-off location. Better yet, toss your pumpkin at Compost Winnipeg’s Annual Pumpkin Drop. It’s fun for the whole family!

Unfortunately, carved pumpkins are no longer safe to eat, so we don’t recommend eating your porch pumpkin. Uncarved pumpkins may not be as sweet by the end of Halloween, but they are still tasty and safe to eat. Getty Stewart shares how to make homemade pumpkin purée on her blog here.