How To: Green Your Halloween

10/28/2011 from Energy Refuge

Halloween 2011 is upon us and, like most festive dates, it’s a time of the year when people indulge in overt consumption, which is not really much fun for the planet.

But it’s possible to have a green Halloween, too, with a little creativity or simply a bit of thinking outside the candy box.

So here are some tips for a green Halloween:

Recycle, recycle, recycle: Halloween is about imagination so have a look around the house and have fun with discarded materials or old outfits at the back of the wardrobe. Perhaps a tatty wedding gown could become a Frankenstein’s Bride outfit? Or some old rubber snakes could become a Medusa wig? An old white sheet with two holes can become a ghost. The possibilities are boundless.
Avoid plastics: The Plastic Pollution Coalition recommends a plastic-free Halloween. It suggests mini-boxed instead of plastic-wrapped candy and don’t forget to tell trick-or-treaters to reuse and recycle the boxes. An idea: finger puppet ghosts and origami bats to replace plastic candy bars.
Greener decoration: Use the knives at home to carve pumpkins instead of inefficient plastic carvers. Of course you don’t want kids to handle knives but they can get involved by picking a design, drawing one and scooping seeds. Still on the pumpkin theme: you can make a scare crow with a pumpkin stuffed with leaves and dried corn stalks. The effect is great and it’s all natural – if you can get an organic pumpkin, even better. Another idea: stuffed black socks can become a giant black spider.
Solar Halloween lights: Check out the Energy Refuge store for some ideas to add a touch of alternative energy to the decoration.

For more information on how to have a green Halloween, visit the website of the Green Halloween organization for useful tips. Have fun and stay green!