Waste Free Halloween Guide
/Halloween can be a pretty scary time of year thanks to all the waste and plastic involved! Here’s our quick guide to help you reduce your plastic and waste this Halloween, meaning you can have fun without the horror!
In 2021 Cornwall Council reported that Cornwall throws away a scary 180 tonnes of pumpkin flesh after Halloween each year, here are our top tips for using all of your pumpkin to avoid waste:
1) Use your pumpkin flesh after carving. The easiest thing to do is to make a pumpkin puree that can then be used for all sorts of baking and cooking. Make your puree by taking your pumpkin flesh, cutting into cubes and placing on an oiled baking tray. Bake in oven for around 45-60mins until cooked and soft. Leave to cool and then place in blender. Use for muffins, cakes, pancakes, soups, risotto or a pasta sauce. Easy to freeze so there is no pressure to use straight away or have days of pumpkin recipes!
2) Don’t waste your seeds. Take the seeds, give them a wash and then you can roast in frying pan to cook. You can make either savoury by cooking in olive oil and adding salt or tamari and your favourite spices (curry is good) or make sweet by cooking in rapeseed oil and add a splash of maple syrup. Makes a great snack or topping for a meal.
3) Once Halloween is over and you are finished with your carved pumpkins look to compost them rather than throwing in the bin. Check out our compost guide if you’re yet to try it.
Another form of Halloween waste is fancy dress with Cornwall throwing away around 125 tonnes of fancy dress costumes after Halloween each year. Here are our top tips for avoiding waste:
1) Don’t buy new, look to use what you already have in your wardrobe.
2) Ask friends for pieces or costume ideas, swap clothing instead of buying!
3) Look to buy secondhand, check out local charity shops and online secondhand sites.
4) After Halloween don’t throwaway your costumes, look to sell, swap or keep for next year. If you do have fabric waste that is unsuitable for future wear, place in a clear bag and put out with your recycling where it will be shredded and downcycled.
Our top tips to make your treats waste free:
1) Buy your treats from your local refill store package free. Look for sweets, chocolate and candy or go for dried fruits and nuts.
2) Make your own treats such as decorated biscuits or cupcakes (use that pumpkin puree!). We’ve also seen some pretty creative decorated fresh fruit for spooky treats!
3) If you can’t find package free look for foil wrapped chocolates and sweets - just remember that small bits of foil need to be collected and rolled into a ball with large waste foil for it to be recycled.
4) Choose reusable treat containers, cotton bags/ pillowcases that can be decorated with a spooky design.
And finally decorations and party ideas that help you be waste free:
1) Use natural decorations such as pumpkins, squashes and gourds that can be eaten and composted after use! Salt dough is great for making zero waste decorations, paper for spooky garlands and hanging decorations and candles for Halloween vibes!
2) Get creative with party games and give existing games a Halloween feel by making them spooky - spooky charades anyone?!
We hope our guide has given you some ideas on how to reduce your waste and plastic use this Halloween- have a spooky one!