How to have a Scarily Sustainable Halloween
Halloween is a great excuse for a party, to interact with your community and for your kids to have all sorts of fun ‘trick or treating’. With all the costumes, treats and decorations it can be tricky to be eco-friendly, but it doesn’t have to be!
Here are our fun tips to be sustainable on this All Hallows’ Eve:
#1 Surprise your local farmers with huge support
Why not treat Halloween as an opportunity to show your support to local farmers? There are loads of pumpkin farmers all around the country who grow this hardy veg and many of them will sell directly to the customer – like you – as well as to big supermarkets. Some of them will even let you go into the fields and pick your own pumpkin!
Remember, the closer the farmer is to you the smaller the carbon footprint of that vegetable is. Pick an organic pumpkin and you’ll help reduce that figure even more!
#2 Spook your neighbours with homemade decorations
You can make everything from skeletons to tombstones with a bit of cardboard, some scissors and some eco-friendly paints! Plus, when you’re done, the cardboard can be recycled or even composted. Not only is this environmentally friendly, it can provide a great family activity in the run-up to Halloween.
#3 Fear the rubbish
One of the biggest issues with Halloween is the waste that’s created. There are thousands of wrappers from individual sweets, single-use costumes and decorations, and much, much more! Why not do your bit to cut down on the rubbish? Some things you could try may be:
- Making your own treats (you could use the pumpkin for this!)
- Re-use a costume or even make your own – a simple cardboard box can go a long way!
- Use recyclable decorations – you can put your Christmas fairy lights inside your pumpkin for long lasting light. Plus if you’re a Good Energy customer that electricity will be 100% renewable!
#4 Use the pumpkin’s guts
Pumpkin carving is fun, but make sure you make the most of all the lovely goodness inside of it! There’re so many things that you can make, with loads of pumpkin recipes available on BBC good food. Some of our favourites include:
- Toasted pumpkin seeds – so easy to do and uses all the insides!
- Pumpkin soup – another simple recipe, perfect as a winter warmer.
- Pumpkin pie – who doesn’t love pumpkin pie?
- Dog treats made with pumpkin so your canine friend can get in on the festivities as well!
- You can even make a body scrub out of it!
#5 Throw a Halloween party!
You could theme the Halloween party to be ‘green’ but you’ll probably just end up with people coming as the Hulk, leprechauns or The Riddler. It’s probably a better idea to throw a normal Halloween party and just make sure that everything you provide is sustainable, like:
- Using biodegradable or recyclable cups and glasses
- Ensuring the food you provide is local and organic
- Using LED lights around your home to provide a spooky atmosphere
- And obviously bring out your homemade decorations, as we mentioned above
Want to really embrace your sustainable side this Halloween? Switch to Good Energy’s 100% renewable electricity and quote “Trick or Treat” before the 31st October for a little surprise.