Halloween is fast approaching and if, like me, you have the local fiber and zero waste, the organization can quickly be a headache, even a real nightmare! On the menu: individually wrapped candies, decorations that will end up in the garbage and costumes that we wear once a year (because our little ones are growing up too quickly or they are no longer "fashionable" the following year).
We therefore offer you some tips to follow in order to reduce your waste consumption on this Day of the Dead:
The decorations
This is the key element if we want the little monsters to stop at our doorstep to increase their loot. As they are only used for a day (or a few weeks), we opt for edible and/or natural decorations. Pumpkins, squash, tree branches, dead leaves, haystacks, etc. It is possible to decorate our pumpkins without cutting them and thus be able to recover them 100% in the kitchen afterwards.
credit: Unsplash
In order to amuse the children and involve them in the preparations, it is also possible to recover old cardboard boxes or rolls of toilet paper to transform them into terrifying decorations. Once Halloween is over, they can be recycled or kept for the following year.
credit: pinterest
The costumes
If you don't want to rack your brains and prefer to get a costume that's already made, opt for a costume bought at a thrift store or go around your family, friends and colleagues to borrow or buy an old costume that they no longer use. If you have a specific need and it is impossible for you to get your hands on a used version, opt for leasing it rather than buying it.
The ideal, to reduce our consumption of waste, remains to make ourselves, from old clothes or fabrics, our costume.
credit: pinterest
For makeup, use what you have on hand…in your kitchen! A little corn syrup and red food coloring will give you an unbelievably bloody effect. For a more morbid/zombie look, use oats, flour and water to make a paste that you can then apply to your skin.
The candies
As children go from house to house to collect treats, offering loose or unwrapped candies is not the safest option and they will probably end up in the garbage once at home. Health Canada recommends that parents inspect all candies collected by their children before allowing them to eat them and remove all candies whose packaging has been torn or perforated as well as homemade candies and fresh fruit . .
To reduce our waste, we first eliminate the famous pre-prepared plastic “candy bag” and prioritize the distribution of individual candies. If you really want to offer packaging, opt for reusable packaging (cloth, for example).
For sweets, as we cannot offer them in “bulk”, we opt for those with easily recyclable packaging: box of Smarties, Nerds, Popeyes cigarettes, etc.
For more local options, we turn to the chocolate lollipops from the Douce Soeur chocolate factory .
Original idea :
Collecting candies makes you thirsty, a drink in a recyclable container is sure to be as appreciated as candy. When I was young, my favorite house on Halloween was that of the neighborhood milkman who offered us chocolate milk, pure happiness! To be original and local, opt for Maple 3 maple water or a sparkling drink from 1642 ! An even more eco-responsible option, we offer beverages in returnable cans.
For the most purists, a lasting surprise like a pencil, an eraser or even a dollar will be appreciated by young people.
Happy Halloween!
Reviewed by Marie-Pascale
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