Halloween is upon us and while having some spooky fun is important, it’s also vital for us to do our bit for the planet and aim for a zero waste Halloween.

Plastic tubs, fancy dress costumes and not least pumpkins are familiar sights associated with this time of year. Not to mention the odd sign in the window saying “No Trick or Treaters”!

So how do you make Halloween into Hallowgreen? Our handy guide reveals all:

Recycle your plastic tubs

There are only two times in the year when tubs of sweets fly off the shelves – Christmas and, of course, Halloween. With Covid-19 less prominent this year, we can expect more visitors on 31st October and it’s good to be prepared. But rather than buying lots of big bags of sweets that can’t be recycled, buy a plastic tub instead as they can be recycled once they’re empty. 

Rehome your sweet wrappers

While we’re on the subject of confectionary, here’s a way to keep sweet wrappers out of the bin. It does cost money, but it is very rewarding to use Terracycle. You order a box from them, fill it with whatever you want to recycle and send it off. They will carry out an extrusion process so plastics can be remoulded for use in new products. 

Revive unwanted Halloween costumes

This is a trickier problem to solve, but if you have any costumes that can’t go in the dressing box due to damage or no longer being wanted there are some solutions. Donating them to nurseries, pre-schools or charities might be an option if they’re wearable again. Failing that, you can be really clever and use materials to make a scarecrow. 

Maximise your pumpkins

Recycling a pumpkin is the obvious thing to do as they break down quickly in due to them being mostly water. But most parts of a pumpkin can be used to make tasty food. You could make pumpkin soup or munch on toasted seeds as a savoury snack. And if you fancy doing something quirky, why not make a pumpkin planter or put scraps in the garden for animals to feed on. 

And if you need help removing any waste, contact CBS Waste today. Call us on 01480 220434 or email info@cbs-waste.org. Happy Hallowgreen!