I ghosted waste this Halloween

Posted on: October 25, 2024

As the spooky season approaches, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of costumes, decorations and treats. Here are five ghoulishly good tips to avoid the bin fright next bin night.  

Gifting  

Most of us have some Halloween decorations in storage gathering real life cobwebs. So, if you are not prepping your home ready for Trick or Treaters, why not lend your unused Halloween items to a family member, neighbour or a friend so that they don’t need to spend a cent on more spooky stuff.  

Perhaps you’re only just getting into haunting on Halloween and need to build or expand your kit. Put a call out to friends, family or your local Buy Nothing Group before heading to the shops. Avoiding waste is not only good for the planet, but it also good for your hip pocket!  Who would say boo to that? 

Do you need an award-winning outfit? Have a look at Good Sammy's posts for inspiration and source your Halloween get-up from reuse stores rather than buying new.  

Check here for some different looks sourced from reuse items >> https://www.facebook.com/reel/339907585253511 

Check here for some great examples of reuse Halloween outfits! >> https://www.facebook.com/share/p/UVHvFuorSkgBqrpN/ 

Recycling 

Halloween is a great time to dine on some 'terrifying treats' but when it comes recycling, we should never spook our recycling bin.

How to keep your recycling bin 'unspooked'? 

Only these 5 items in the recycling bin:

1. paper 
2. cardboard 
3. cans 
4. plastic (bottles and containers) 
5. glass  

Make sure cardboard is flattened and containers go in lids off and rinsed. Remember, keep it loooooose.

Earthcycling 

Putting on a fearsome feast for friends on All Hallow’s Eve? Leftover foods are perfect for the  the next day, but sometimes scraps need to be tossed. If it grows, it belongs in FOGO (or is it foooooogooooo?). 

Don’t start moaning if you do not have a FOGO bin. There are plenty of home composting solutions that will let your scraps rest in pieces, and rise from the grave as beautiful, rich soil. Here is a simple composting guide… it is not that scary (worms included).

 

Avoiding  

Of course, the best way to reduce your waste is to avoid it in the first place! Are you planning a gathering? Disposable cups, unnecessary plastic wrapping and plastic bags are easy to avoid, but the real trick is sticking to a shopping list to avoid buying more treats than you need.  

Rather than buying processed treats for your trickers, here are some great ideas from the Source Bulk Foods:

• Old Crone Fingers: Press an almond into the end of an Australian whole dried banana for a creepy but tasty snack. 
• Creepy Crawlies: Fill pitted dates with peanut butter, and add slivered almonds for antennae to create a spooky, delicious critter. 
• Monster Teeth: Press two apple wedges together with peanut butter and add yoghurt sultanas as monster teeth. 

Get out your Zombie peepers and spy these great tips from Plastic Free July.

Taking  

Halloween decorations often have batteries (embedded or replaceable) and can create a horror show out of your bin (and Halloween jokes aside, batteries are very dangerous to waste workers and the community). Check here to access a Find my Nearest tool to located where your nearest drop off for batteries. Remember, never bin a battery (and have a GREAT Halloween!)