Halloween is a favorite in the US, and for good reason.  There’s very little that’s as fun as getting into costume and eating too much candy - whether you’re five or fifty.  Like lots of other holidays, though, Halloween results in some pretty serious effects on the environment.  From an increase in trash thrown away to the materials used to make store-bought costumes, almost every aspect of this holiday needs green attention.

In North America, we spend more than six and a half billion dollars on this spooky holiday every year, five billion of which is spent in the US.  Choosing to direct our money toward more ecologically friendly solutions could make a big difference in how much Halloween affects the environment.  After all, in the past several decades, there’s been a big move from hand made costumes and treats to mass produced commercial types.

Eco-Friendly Costuming
Costumes are one of the most identifiable parts of Halloween, and one of the ones that we can most easily take back from consumerism.  While many of use had handmade costumes as children, these have gone by the wayside, to be increasingly replaced with disposable, mass produced versions.

Many of these commercial costumes are made from plastic and other synthetics, and just like plastic juice bottles, they’re hard to recycle - even harder than most containers.  Since store-bought costumes are often poorly made, many children will wear their costume only once before throwing it away.  Some won’t even last the night.

Your options to avoid this kind of waste include making your own costume (a time-honored tradition) and renting one for the evening.  Both of these choices allow you to have a much higher quality costume than one bought at the store, and to be sure that it’ll be reused.  You might even spend less money.

Let your kids use their imagination on Halloween, and allow them to help make their costumes.  Children can make fascinating things out of old dress up clothes, and if no one else knows what they’re supposed to be, it doesn’t matter.  Just make sure your kids are having fun.  Lots of children will be dressed identically this Halloween - let yours stand out with a hand made costume.  Just be sure, if your child is using dark colored clothes and you live in a high traffic area, to put a piece of light colored fabric or reflective ribbon on the costume.  That will help avoid accidents.

Grownups can have fun with costumes made at home, too.  Many adult costumes are just as poorly made as the ones for kids - thrift stores and home sewing can produce a better and more flattering result.  If you don’t have the time or inclination to make your own costume, the costume rental store is a great option, too.  You’ll be surprised by the range of options available, once you think outside the box and stop buying mass-produced costume pieces.

Finding Green Candy
What’s the second most important thing about Halloween?  For many kids, it’s the trick or treating.  However, the candy and treats most available are pre-packaged, and produced by only a few companies.  Most contain genetically modified ingredients, and almost all of them produce a lot of paper and plastic waste.  The days when home-made treats were acceptable have passed long ago, now that most parents are afraid of poison, razor blades, or other nasties hiding in their kids’ sweet treats - a fear that’s mostly fueled by rumor and supposition.

Snopes.com, debunker of many urban legends, reports that they have found no incidents of randomly poisoning Halloween candy, though there have been a number of scares, and one or two incidents where unrelated poisonings were blamed on candy.

Foreign objects inside Halloween candy have occurred over the years, but almost all reported incidents have been hoaxes, and even out of the real cases, no one has ever been seriously hurt.  Less than ten cases in fifty years have resulted in even the most minor of injuries.

What does that mean for environmentally concerned parents whose children are trick or treating?  There’s no need to shun home-made treats, fruit, and other goodies, for one.  While it may be hard to get others to accept that popcorn balls and similar treats are safe, you can give out food that reduces environmental impact.

Look for natural or organic candies with minimal packaging when you select your trick or treating options.  The selection of ecologically friendly candy available is growing - from lollipops to chocolate.

They can be found in your local organic grocery or health food store, or you can order them online.  These are a slightly healthier, more environmentally friendly alternative to conventional ways to satisfy your sweet tooth.  Honey sticks are a fun treat for children over the age of two, as are fruit leather, dried organic fruit boxes, and fair trade chocolate.

Any individually wrapped candy will produce some packaging, but you can pick and choose what you buy.  Look for treats that use as little plastic packaging as possible - paper isn’t the best choice, but it’s better than that using fossil fuels.

Buy locally made sweets sold by local retailers whenever you can.  That supports local economies, and it cuts down on the pollution and fossil fuel consumption required to transport candy long distances.  Some people also choose not to give out candy at all.  Instead, they offer inexpensive items like pencils, crayons, projects books, erasers and other treats that are useful as well as fun.  Rocks, shells, and even marbles can be a lot of fun for kids this Halloween, too.

Loot Bags and Candy Containers
Every child going trick or treating needs something to carry his or her treats in.  Once upon a time, that may have been a reused shopping bag, but now these bags are often single use and special purpose.  Plastic bags shaped like pumpkins, ghosts, and other spookies may look good, but most of them will be thrown away.

Like many other soft plastics, recycling facilities may be hard to find, causing those bags to end up in the landfill.  Around the world, more than five hundred billion plastic bags are used every year, and less than one percent of them ever see a recycling facility.  When your little goblins go out this Halloween, provide them with reusable bags and containers.

Canvas or other cloth shopping bags and net bags make great treat holders.  You can even use a pillow case (your kids will love how much more it holds), to provide a reusable, ecologically friendly alternative to single use loot bags.  Molded plastic jack o lanterns and cauldrons are multi-use, but remember that these specialty items require fossil fuels to make and transport.

Decorations For A Greener Halloween
The majority of decorations for Halloween in North America are either styrofoam or plastic - both petroleum products.  Since plastics for this purpose are mostly soft, they, like styrofoam, don’t usually get recycled.  As with plastic bags, there’s a dearth of facilities for properly recycling these materials, meaning that most Halloween decorations end up in the landfill.

When choosing autumn decorations, think about a natural solution.  Use pumpkins, apples, corn husks, pine cones, and hand made items.  We all know that it’s easy to make a ghost from a white sheet with a face.  Use non-permanent pens to draw the face on, or attack felt shapes to the sheet with pins to provide a ghoulish expression.  Use soy based candles instead of petroleum-based paraffin, and provide spooky music to create your ambiance.  Once it’s all done, the fruit can be eaten, the corn and pumpkins put out for local wildlife, and handmade pieces can be put away for next year.

What About The Pumpkin?
One source of Halloween waste we might not think much about is the pumpkin.  A classic, biodegradable source of Halloween fun, jack o lanterns become a problem if there are too many of them.  They release greenhouse gases when decomposing, like any other organic material, and they often take up a lot of space in the landfill.  However, they’re a traditional Halloween centerpiece for a lot of us.  Does the environmental impact of so many Jacks mean we have to give up our Halloween pumpkins?

You don’t have to say goodbye to your pumpkin, as long as you pay attention to where it comes from and what you do with them.  Many pumpkins are grown using chemically intensive methods, including heavy pesticide and fertilizer use.  An organic or pesticide-free pumpkin from a local farm can help reduce this issue.  You can also reduce - choose just one pumpkin for the whole family, instead of one or more per person.

Once you’re done with your jack o lantern, don’t just throw it away.  These big, vibrant squash are a food crop for many animals and humans, and letting it rot in a landfill would be a waste.  Jack o lantern style pumpkins are usually too touch and fibrous to make pie from, but neighborhood squirrels and other animals will appreciate them as the days grow colder.  Seeds can be placed in a bird feeder, or left out for other animals, too.

If your climate is too warm, or local animals are interested, composting your pumpkin is another option that lets it keep working for you - in the form of nutritious soil for your lawn and garden.  Not everyone has a lawn big enough to compost at home, but many people have enough space for a vermiculture (worm composting) box, or a local garden or hardware center that will compost for them.

Halloween Parties
A common way for grownups to have spooky fun, and loved by many kids, too, Halloween parties can cause a lot of waste.  Disposable plates, cutlery and glasses take up a lot of landfill space and are hard to recycle.  Mass-produced packaged food has lots of travel miles on it, and usually isn’t organic.  However, you can throw a Halloween party that doesn’t have a big effect on the environment - just use local, minimally processed food and reusable dishes and decorations.

Organic food is getting much easier to find - choose pesticide and synthetic fertilizer free apples, pumpkins and other foods for decoration, games and eating.  Avoid packages of chips and snacks, even when organic, since processing is a fuel intensive procedure.  Instead, provide snacks that are closer to their natural form.  It’s easy to whip up a delicious and nutritious veggie plate with dip, homemade baked goods, and many other options for your Halloween party.  Choose decorations that can be reused or disposed of responsibly, and know what can and can’t be recycled in your area.

Bonfires and Fireworks
Less common in the US, these are still an important part of many Halloween celebrations.  However, both fires and fireworks have major environmental impacts.  The chemicals that most fireworks are made of are bad for the environment, producing toxic gases, carbon dioxide, and noise, heat and sound pollution.

After fireworks displays, water and air pollution both go up.  The general area where the fireworks have been let off is more toxic than other air, and many of the non-recyclable toxic pieces of trash left after fireworks have been set off end up in landfills.  Once there, they become yet another source of chemical leachate - a common problem in overfilled landfills.

Animals have trouble with fireworks, too.  Both domestic and wild animals don’t understand what’s going on when we set off these colorful explosions.  They often have better hearing than humans, resulting in pain and fear when they’re too close to an exploding firework.  The impact on animals is big enough that many local vet offices and animal protection agencies tell pet owners to keep their animals inside and pay attention to them if fireworks are likely to be set off.  Wild and farm animals have no such protection, and may be seriously alarmed by the unexpected noise and light.

Bonfires are another Halloween tradition that can be a big polluter.  While bonfires are becoming less common, they do still happen, and they use up fuel and increase air pollution.  During firework and bonfire intensive events, air pollution has been noted to increase significantly.  Carbon dioxide emissions also mean that air quality is reduced in areas where burning takes place.

Transportation on Halloween
Holidays often create an increase in emissions and air pollution due to increased travel.  While fewer people trek across the country on Halloween, there’s still a lot of wasted fuel due to travel to parties and driving for trick or treating.  Some parents even sit in the car and let the engine idle while their kids go up to a house, then drive to the next one!

To reduce the environmental of your transportation this Halloween, think carefully about it.  If you’re taking kids trick or treating in your neighborhood, choose to walk with them - don’t drive.  Those concerned about safety can travel in groups with other families, and have a lot more fun at the same time.

Trick or treaters who live outside of town and can’t walk between houses may wish to drive into town, or to a more densely populated area.  However, you can invite another family to come with you, saving space in the car.  Once you reach your destination, park and walk the rest of the way.  Choose costumes that are suitable for the weather, so you’ll be comfortable and happy on foot, instead of needing a climate controlled car interior to stay warm or cool.

Heading to a party?  There’s no reason to take your car alone if you can ride with someone else or have them ride with you.  Walking, bicycling and riding the bus or other public transportation are other ways to get to and from a party with lower environmental impact.  Again, travel in groups if you’re concerned about safety, and dress for the weather.  You’ll have a great time, spend less on gasoline, and pollute less, too.

Fueling Lighting On Halloween
Flashlights, candles and decorative lighting are often important parts of Halloween, but they can cause a lot of fossil fuel use, plus send a lot of non-reusable batteries to the landfill, creating more heavy metal pollution.  The good news is that there are some options you can choose to reduce the impact of your family’s lighting choices for Halloween.

If using conventional flashlights, choose rechargeable batteries that can be used again and again.  Another alternative is to switch to shakeable flashlights or those that can be charged using a crank.  Solar lights can be left in sunlight to charge during the day, then used at night.  They’re great for lawn decorations, too.  Solar landscape lighting is easy to install, and uses no power.

When choosing candles, remember that conventional types are petroleum based.  Instead of paraffin, choose a soy based wax or other natural product that results in less damage to the environment.  Remember to look for organically produced soy products, since conventional ones use a lot of fertilizers and pesticides.

Keep It Simple
One way to reduce a lot of waste and environmental impact is to simplify your holiday.  You’ll also feel a lot less stressed.  Instead of going to lots of parties and events, or throwing a big one yourself, stick to smaller, simpler gatherings.  You probably won’t notice the difference when it comes to having fun, but you’ll be a lot less tired and anxious.  You’ll also use less fuel and buy fewer commercial items.

Remember - a spooky movie light can be just as much fun as an all-out Halloween party.  Simpler events often lead to having a better time over all.  If you’ve tended toward big Halloween events in the past, it might be time to slow down a little this year - for yourself and for the environment.

Don’t Lose Sight Of The Big Picture
No article on a green Halloween should be treated as a checklist.  If you don’t pay attention to why you’re doing more environmentally friendly things, you could end up doing them without thinking about what each of them means.  A greater benefit for the environment results if you pay attention to your daily activities, and think about how you and your family affect the world around you, instead of “going green” without much consideration.

Doing everything at once can lead to becoming overwhelmed.  Instead of trying to improve your holiday all in one fell swoop, identify the biggest problems first.  Take on transportation issues, reusability, or organic food, then pay attention to other problems.  Remember - travel and food are some of our biggest problems, when it comes to environmental impact.  If you reduce the amount of fuel you expend and the damage done by what you eat, you’ll have made a difference!

Once you get comfortable with one change, you can move on to another.  Environmentally friendly practices are things you need to incorporate into your life overall - not just on Halloween.  Think about what you’re doing and why you do it, and you’ll find that it’s a lot easier to have a green holiday of any sort.

From reusable loot bags and costumes to organic pumpkins, a green Halloween can be a lot of fun, and doesn’t have to be hard.  Work with the time and budget you have to produce the holiday that’s the most fun for you and your family, and the least damaging to the environment.  Remember - every little bit helps!