3 Recycling Tips and Hints for Halloween Festivities

child in orange shirt, black skirt, and orange and black stripe stockings holding a jack-o-lantern for trick or treating

Halloween is all about pigging out on candy, dressing in a fun costume, and being spooked! You might not realize that the real fear during Halloween is the substantial amount of waste accumulated in just one day. From plastic costume accessories to non-biodegradable candy wrappers, Halloween is a nightmare that comes to life for people in the waste management industry, as well as, environmentalists. To put it in perspective – on average, a single trick-or-treater produces one pound of garbage. Along with that fact, there are over 41.1 million kids celebrating the annual holiday – now that’s scary! Keep reading to find out some easy recycling tips and hints for your Halloween festivities.

1. Trick-or-Treat with Reusable Bags

Before your witches and vampires can go out trick-or-treating, ensure that they are using a reusable bag for all their treats this Halloween. Did you know that Americans use more than 380 million plastic bags and more than 10 million paper bags annually? Almost all of the plastic bags final destination will be in waste. As a result the plastic bags harm countless numbers of innocent marine mammals, as well as, pollute our soil and water with minuscule plastic particles that have been broken down. Another alarming fact is that 14 million trees in the U.S. will be cut down in one year just for paper bags. Instead of using plastic bags, there is a wide range of reusable bags, from personalized bags and pillowcases to cloth shopping bags, that can be used to help the environment. Reusable shopping bags do not have to be thrown away after one use and are much more durable – therefore, this is the perfect eco-friendly alternative for paper and plastic bags for your Halloween trick-or-treating.

2. Recycle Halloween Costumes

Buying a brand new Halloween costume that will only be worn once, is not only extremely expensive, but it is also terrible for the environment. From the fabric the costumes are made of to the harmful packaging of the costumes, your bank account, and the environment will suffer! Nearly 85% of Halloween costumes end up in landfills. Instead of throwing Halloween costumes away there are a few options including, donating to organizations who help those in need, or you can save them for next year and use your imagination on creating a one-of-a-kind costume! Making your own Halloween costume could be a fun family project where everyone can help each other out and create something unique! 

3. Provide Eco-Friendly Treats

The gigantic bags of individually wrapped candies are not only unhealthy for your teeth, but also unhealthy for the environment. You can get organic chocolate or organic lollipops almost anywhere nowadays. Choosing to give out organic candies is in fact healthier, but also beneficial to the environment since they have little to no packaging that does not require fossil fuels and are recyclable. Just because Halloween is the biggest candy holiday, doesn’t mean you can’t be different! An eco-friendly giveaway alternative for trick-or-treaters could be fun Halloween erasers, a box of crayons, pencils, or even temporary tattoos! 

Make Halloween Green with Cali Carting

When you think of Halloween holiday colors, you automatically think of orange and black – but not green! Change the way you think about Halloween and go green this holiday with these useful tips and hints listed above. At Cali Carting, we are proud to support our local communities in New Jersey to manage solid waste and recycling through education and our diverse range of waste management services. Discover more about our municipal contracts and check out our blog for more advice on recycling and waste management. Please contact us with any concerns you may have. We can’t wait to meet you!

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