Go Green For Halloween

Halloween is right around the corner. Teachers, parents, and children are all preparing for an evening filled with thrills, chills, and lots of lots of candy. Like many of you, I love Halloween! Of course, many of us don't think about the ecological consequenses of the holiday. For example, what happens to the millions of plastic candy wrappers, decorations, and costumes after Halloween? According to The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 4.6 million tons of plastic bags and wrappers are disposed of each year (only 8% of which is recycled). A lot of these wrappers and bags are the result of successful trick-or-treaters around the country! Add in garbage from Halloween parties and the energy used by the talking skeletons and other decorations and it can make for very scary eco-nightmare. Of course, there are some things that you and your children can do to help. Duke Energy offers the following suggestions for putting a little green in your scream.

Make your own costumes. Don't buy ready-made costumes from a store. Make your own using old clothes and things around the house. It is great way to recycle and you can save money. You might also benefit from a little more "quality time" with family members planning and making costumes.

Send your little munchkins out with reusable candy bags. Children trick-or-treating should carry reusable canvas tote bags or even old pillow-cases instead of plastic throw-aways that will end up in a landfill.

Walk. Don’t drive your kids around for trick-or-treat. Stay in your local neighborhood and walk. You can save on gas, reduce carbon emissions, get some exercise, and maybe even meet some nice people.

Give away eco-friendly treats. A growing variety of organic candies is available at local health food stores or organic groceries. Also, consider searching out goodies made and sold by local vendors. This can help to avoid “food miles” that add to energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Give non-candy trick-or-treat items. Consider giving non-candy items, such as organic juice boxes or apple sauce snack packs. Packages of dried fruits, such as raisins or cherries, is another option. You may get a few long faces from disappointed trick-or-treaters, but it may help to promote a healthier lifestyle.

Recycle and reuse. If you are holding a Halloween monster bash, make sure and use reusable plates and utensils instead of disposable ones that may end up in a land fill. Also, purchase candy and other goodies in bulk to limit the amount of packaging.

Don’t buy plastic decorations. Purchase pumpkins at a local farm market and carve them up to use as jack-o-lanterns for your front porch. Old bed-sheets can be made into great ghosts to hang from the front porch.