Zero-Waste Halloween Ideas

Zero-waste Halloween Ideas to help cut-down on trash this year from costumes to candy.

Zero-waste costumes

Check your local thrift stores, raid your closet, check out costumes from previous years or even borrow from a friend! You could even go as far as to organize a costume-swap! You'll not only reduce a ton of unnecessary waste but you'll save a lot of money too! Get those ghoulishly creative juices flowing and start creating!

Zero-Waste Halloween Makeup Make your own fake blog by combining powdered food colouring with corn syrup! Much safer for your skin, cheaper than buying the chemicals in the plastic tube, and only 2 ingredients! Need a white face? Try some Zinc sunscreen!

Zero-Waste Trick-or-Treating

Yes, little orange pumpkin tubs are cute and all but their active life span is probably less than 1 hour (depending on how dedicated you are to trick-or-treating) and they spend forever in a landfill. Opt for a wooden basket or a pillow case or simply a reusable shopping bag instead!

Are you on the delivering end of Trick-or-Treating this year? Try and opt for candy that comes in recycleable cardboard boxes, or even something that isn't edible so that it's allergen friendly as well such as pencils! If you want to get creative, make a Trick-or-Treat scavenger hunt for the kids to complete!

Another healthier option is drawing Jack-O-Lantern faces on mandarin oranges or handing out pumpkin seeds to plant in their own little garden (my fave idea yet)!

Zero-waste pumpkin carving

Instead of buying pumpkins that just end up in the compost the morning after Halloween night, purchase a pumpkin that you'll be able to make into a soup or stew once it's done being displayed! So many perfectly good pumpkins go to waste just because it's what we've always done. I am also a huge culprit for this but I will definitely be making soup out of my carved pumpkin this year!

If you don't already save your pumpkin seeds to roast later on then you're missing out. When gutting your pumpkins, set out a bowl for seeds, and one for the stringy guts. Rinse, dry, drizzle with olive oil and sea salt and roast! Such a great snack for lunches the rest of the week.

Now that we've got the actual pumpkin figured out, let's get to the carving. Stop buying those cheap little carving knives just because they have an orange handle. They break and bend and don't last very long. Use real knives or invest in some more durable carving tools that will last you year after year!