Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
Interesting

Tips To Reduce, Reuse And Recycle Halloween Costumes, Decorations And Treats

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 27 Oct, 2016 12:47 PM
    TORONTO — With ghosts and goblins preparing to haunt the streets of Canada's cities this Halloween, the good news is it's possible to have a ghoulishly good time without generating a lot of waste.
     
    By observing the three Rs — reduce, reuse and recycle — when it comes to costumes, decorations and treats, enjoyment of the holiday needn't be sacrificed.
     
    "There could be some arguments that you don't celebrate it at all and you shut your light off and don't do anything — that's the least wasteful you can possibly be," says Emma Rohmann, an environmental engineer and green building consultant who runs the company Green at Home in Toronto.
     
    "But I think part of green living is getting into some of the cultural activities that you enjoy and I happen to like Halloween so we do get into it" in a low-key way.
     
    Katelin Leblond, co-founder of PAREdown, a website that documents going back to basics with zero-waste living, tries not to make trick-or-treating the focus of Halloween for her five-year-old son and three-year-old daughter.
     
    "We'll carve pumpkins and will see if they can find a local activity like a corn maze that doesn't require waste generation," she says.
     
     
     
    Last year, when the Leblond family lived in Victoria, they went to a bonfire put on by the fire department. This year, Leblond's children will don a mermaid costume and a biker costume found at a secondhand store for a total of about $18. No face paint will be used and the costumes will be donated afterward.
     
    Rohmann makes costumes for her five-year-old daughter and two-year-old son or shops at nearby consignment stores.
     
    "Luckily my daughter was a ghost last year so that was manageable. We do hand-me-down costumes....  I've got two kids now so my son is reusing my daughter's costumes for the most part."
     
    Rohmann also reuses simple Halloween decorations each year.
     
    "I try not to get stuff like crepe paper or the cobwebs or things that aren't going to last as long," says Rohmann, who has also volunteered with the Queen of Green coaching program with the David Suzuki Foundation. Though lawn tombstones and outdoor skeletons are plastic, their life cycle is longer.
     
    "You're not using energy to keep them inflated or the lights to keep them lit up, so I think it's a lower-footprint way of doing it."
     
    They both advocate taking the non-food route when it comes to handing out treats at the door.
     
    Rohmann is giving out Halloween-themed pencils, though she plans to buy some candy to have on hand for older kids.
     
     
    "I know we can never have enough art supplies in the house — pencils, crayons, notebooks, that sort of thing. I'm going for practical," she says.
     
    Both women suggest avoiding impractical dollar-store trinkets, which can become clutter and end up in landfill.
     
    For candy, look for a type packaged in a recyclable cardboard box such as Smarties, which are also peanut free.
     
    The wrappers on individually wrapped chocolate bars can't be recycled, but some communities can accommodate the cellophane from candy like lollipops in their soft plastic recycling program.
     
    If the opportunity arises, Leblond's son will choose plastic-free packaged treats when trick-or-treating.
     
    "Even if the homeowner doesn't have any plastic-free treats to provide this year it may provide food for thought for coming years," she says.
     
    To collect their loot, children can use a pillowcase or reusable cloth shopping bag. Leblond's son uses a Halloween pail they had before they started their zero-waste lifestyle and her daughter uses an Easter basket.
     
    An alternative to handing out candy is to donate to the Trick or Eat program, an initiative aimed at fighting hunger.
     
    "Volunteers collect food and other goods such as diapers and feminine hygiene products and raise awareness about hunger issues on people's doorsteps, then deliver goods to a local aid agency," says Sarah Archibald, program manager of the non-profit, youth-driven charity Meal Exchange, which runs Trick or Eat.
     
     
    There are at least 85 campaigns running across the country. Last year, about 3,800 participants raised $380,000 worth of food, says Archibald. In total, $5 million worth of food has been raised over the 15 years the program has been running.
     
    A Calgary dental office is also trying to reduce Halloween waste by asking kids to trade in their candy. Children can bring in their booty to Evans Dental Health & Wellness on Nov. 1 for the Halloween Candy Buy Back program. 
     
    The child gets $1 for every pound of candy and the dental service donates a pound of apples to the local food bank. This year, they are shipping the candy to the California company Blume Distillation to be converted to biofuel.
     
    The program has been running for nine years. Last year, 2,500 pounds of apples were donated.

    MORE Interesting ARTICLES

    VIDEO: Flying High! Bride Makes Magical Entry With The All-New Flying Veil Trend

    VIDEO: Flying High! Bride Makes Magical Entry With The All-New Flying Veil Trend
    In a 43-second clip, which had collected over 2.5 million views at the time of writing, multiple women wait for the magical white veil that drops elegantly on them.

    VIDEO: Flying High! Bride Makes Magical Entry With The All-New Flying Veil Trend

    Artificial Hand Helps Amputees Feel Just How Hard To Squeeze

    Artificial Hand Helps Amputees Feel Just How Hard To Squeeze
    WASHINGTON — A next-generation artificial hand is letting two amputees tell the difference between a soft or firm touch — like holding a child without squeezing too tightly. It's another step toward developing prosthetics that can feel.

    Artificial Hand Helps Amputees Feel Just How Hard To Squeeze

    Donald Trump's Campaign Has Spent More On Hats Than On Polling!

      According to the Federal Election Commission filings, Trump's presidential campaign has spent USD 1.8 million on polling from June 2015 through to September this year.

    Donald Trump's Campaign Has Spent More On Hats Than On Polling!

    Searchers Scour Stanley Park Seeking Any Sign Of 32-Year-Old New Westminster Mother

    Searchers Scour Stanley Park Seeking Any Sign Of 32-Year-Old New Westminster Mother
    Thirty-two-year-old Florence Leung has been missing since Tuesday when she was last seen driving away from her New Westminster home.

    Searchers Scour Stanley Park Seeking Any Sign Of 32-Year-Old New Westminster Mother

    Indian Diamond Tycoon To Again Gift 400 Cars, 1260 Flats To Workers As Diwali Bonus

    Indian Diamond Tycoon To Again Gift 400 Cars, 1260 Flats To Workers As Diwali Bonus
      Savjibhai Dholakia, who runs a diamond export firm in Surat, announced his company will give 1,260 cars, 400 flats and pieces of jewellery to his employees ahead of Diwali

    Indian Diamond Tycoon To Again Gift 400 Cars, 1260 Flats To Workers As Diwali Bonus

    World's Top Chefs In Delhi For Meeting Of Most Exclusive Gourmet Club

    World's Top Chefs In Delhi For Meeting Of Most Exclusive Gourmet Club
    Members of Le Club des Chefs des Chefs, executive chefs to world leaders, are in Delhi for their annual conference

    World's Top Chefs In Delhi For Meeting Of Most Exclusive Gourmet Club

    PrevNext