Late night frights, trick or treating adventures and scary movie marathons, Halloween is an exciting and spooky time of the year. But what’s even scarier is that the excessive amount of waste which can be created from Halloween can haunt our local environment for years to come. 

The less haunting news however is that there are lots of easy and practical ways for you to have a sustainable spooky season this year.

Waste-free trick or treating

Instead of giving out lollies wrapped in plastic, try handing out sweets wrapped in paper or cardboard packaging. 

When you’re out and about trick or treating, remember to collect your haul in reusable bags. Or for a bit more fun, you could even decorate old pillowcases in a Halloween theme to use as trick or treat bags. 

Shop second hand

When you’re looking for spooky decorations or creepy costumes, local op shops and Facebook Marketplace are your friends. You can find unique items for an affordable price, while keeping it out of landfill. 

Get freakishly creative with DIY

Plastic Halloween decorations can be an absolute horror show for our local flora and fauna, especially when they are left outside or mistakenly not taken down afterwards. Fake spider webs particularly can cause problems, so try to avoid using these, but if you do, take them down as soon as Halloween is over.

By researching and using sustainable alternatives, this can be easily avoided. You can try to:

• create ghosts and bats out of fabric scraps
• make garlands from fabric and twigs
• use an old glass jar to make a luminaire
• link up with your neighbours and join forces to decorate your street sustainably
• dust off your sewing machine and make your own costumes with old or second-hand clothing and fabrics. 

A fruity twist on jack-o-lanterns

While some pumpkins in Australia are in season for Halloween, they can be trickier to carve than the American alternatives. 

You can put a fruity twist on the classic jack-o-lantern by carving a pineapple or watermelon. Make sure you keep the insides as you’re carving and eat them or create a delicious smoothie. 

You could even chop the carved fruit skin and use it in your compost or worm farm.