Americans consume nearly 600 million pounds of Halloween candy per year, most of which, is individually packaged. Imagine the amount of waste that produces. Millions and millions of plastic wrappers serve their purpose for a brief moment then get tossed - or probably littered on the streets.
No, I'm not going to be the Debbie Downer and tell you to stop letting your kids trick-or-treat or to turn that porch light off to avoid passing out candy. Why? Halloween is my absolute FAVORITE holiday. I could even sit here and argue that it is the most family oriented holiday that exists in America.
So how do we continue to celebrate our beloved celebration of ghouls and goblins without ending up with buckets of trash? We rethink it. Yes, there IS way to partake in trick-or-treating without contributing to our already obvious garbage issue.
Fruit
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| Photo Credit: Personal Creations |
Okay, I know what you're thinking. What kid wants fruit on Halloween? You'd probably be surprised! With the constant rise in food allergies, many kids/parents might give you a high five for providing a safe item for them to eat - that is if they are not allergic to fruit.
You can also make the fruit more fun like making mandarin oranges look like jack-o-lanterns by using a magic marker or making bananas look like ghosts. Apples are a great fall fruit to pass out or even small, decorative pumpkins. In season produce is always better!
Treats From Nature
Gems, sea shells, etc. This would be a fun treat for children to get that wouldn't cause waste or cavities! I would have opted for pretty rocks over candy any day. Of course, I was a strange child.
Treats that Get Used Up
Boxes of crayons, sidewalk chalk, and pencils are good items to hand out as they get used up. Sprout pencils are great considering once they get too short to use, they grow into various plants when planted.
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| Photo Credit: Sprout |
Homemade Treats
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| Photo Credit: Whipped Bakeshop |
Cookies, cupcakes, cake pops, homemade chocolates, caramel apples - the list is endless!
Treat Bags
Fill paper bags with bulk candies or popped popcorn. Right a fun reminder on the bag to compost or recycle it after use because this is only zero waste if the recipient avoids tossing the bag into the garbage. We have to remember that getting the normal way of thinking to reduce, reuse, or recycle before tossing is going to take time.
Seeds
Packets of herb seeds, pumpkin seeds, or flower bombs would be a fun treat to give children to encourage them to grow their own plants!
Palm Oil Free Candy
If you still would rather hand out packaged candy, at least - at the VERY least - opt for palm oil free treats. A lot of the candy that we consume is terribly destructive to endangered species' habits. Orangutans, Sumatran tigers, and Sumatran elephants have all been effected by deforestation due to palm oil farming. Palm oil production and farming practices have also been found to violate many human rights and worker's rights. Because of the cheapness of this product - almost half of the goods we consume contain it. Avoiding it can be tricky considering that companies do NOT have to disclose verbatim "Palm Oil" on their ingredients list. To keep it simple - here is a list of candies that are either made with no palm oil or are made with sustainable palm oil. Download the full list HERE.
Also check out Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's Shopping App!
Avoid Passing Anything Out Altogether
Why just hand out treats? Go above and beyond and do something a little more creative! Set up games like bobbing for apples or pumpkin ring toss, hand out apple cider, set up a pumpkin painting area, etc. You could even put together a Halloween Scavenger Hunt for kids to fill out as they Trick or Treat. Just get creative! Seriously, how many of your neighbors have you taken the time to get to know? This is a great opportunity to really connect with them and provide a safe and fun activity for kids on Halloween.
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| Photo Credit: Kid's Birthday Parties |
Halloween doesn't have to be wasteful if we rethink the way we distribute treats! With a little preparation and thought, we can add a little "green" to our black and orange holiday.
What do you pass out on Halloween that is waste free and sustainable?