Halloween has morphed into a terrifying specter of hyper-consumerism. Starting in September, we’re all bombarded with tons of cheaply made, short-lived plastic costumes and Halloween decorations designed to be used briefly before ending up in the trash.
We can’t shop our way to a sustainable future but we can reclaim the simple fun of this spooky holiday and build better traditions by choosing waste reduction, sharing, natural materials, and reuse over endless buying. Here are some ways you can reject “landfill maxxing” and enjoy a low-waste, plastic-free Halloween packed with creativity and community.
>> Want more tips like these? Sign up here to get emails from The Story of Stuff Project. <<
Costumes: REUSE, Share, and DIY
- Plan Ahead To Avoid Fast-Fashion Pop-Up: If you start thinking about costumes early, you can avoid a panic-fueled last-minute trip to one of those seasonal Halloween stores that appear in empty big box stores that are filled with cheaply made, non-recyclable, synthetic costumes designed for a single night before wearing out or falling apart.
- Check Your Closet: Visit local thrift stores to hunt for key pieces you can combine into something original. Thrift stores are packed with pre-loved costumes, vintage clothing, and unique accessories looking for a second life.
- Crowdsource the “Ingredients”: Need a top hat, a cape, or a specific prop? Reach out to friends or post on your local buy-nothing group to see if you can find it that way.
- Host a Costume Swap: Kids outgrow costumes long before the fabric wears out, and adults rarely want to wear the same outfit two years in a row. Organize a costume swap with your neighbors, friends, or school. Sharing keeps money in your pocket, builds community, and keeps usable textiles and items out of the landfill.
- Shop Secondhand, If Necessary: If you can’t find what you need via one of the avenues above, check your local thrift shop and second hand stores to see if you can pick up the missing elements.
Decorations: USE NaturAL MATERIALS & MAKE YOUR OWN
Retailers are working overtime for months to convince you to buy a set of larger than life animatronic plastic skeletons, witches, and zombies, disposable novelty banners, garlands of fake autumn leaves, and sticky synthetic spiderwebs that tangle up wildlife and create microplastics. Flip the script by choosing beautiful and compostable natural materials and focusing on fun activities with friends of all ages.
1. Harness Nature’s Decor
Nature produces a beautiful, non-toxic, 100% compostable line of fall decor: pumpkins, gourds, hay bales, dried reeds, fallen leaves, and ornamental corn.
When you’re ready to move on from the holiday, compost your pumpkins, gourds, leaves, corn, hay and flowers. You can also check with local farms and animal rescues—cows, pigs, goats, and chickens love munching on leftover, unpainted pumpkins. Think of them as post-Halloween treats.
Cows enjoy post-Halloween treats. Photos by Eve Fox, all rights reserved.
2. CARVE PUMPKINS with friends
Turn jack-o-lantern carving into a fun and memorable gathering with your friends and neighbors.
- Make sure there are plenty of markers to sketch out faces, provide sturdy spoons to scoop with, knives for cutting, and bowls to hold the pumpkin “guts”.
- Heat up a big pot of warm spiced apple cider and put out a tray of apple cider donuts from your local farmers market.
- Don’t waste the pumpkin seeds! Clean off the pulp, toss them with a little oil and salt, and roast them for a nutritious, tasty, zero-waste fall snack.
- Try cutting out the bottom of the pumpkin instead of the top—it sits flat on a plate, keeps the stem intact as a fun topknot, and makes lighting easier.
- Compost any pumpkin detritus or donate it to a local animal sanctuary or farm.
3. Make “Halloween Trees”
This DIY project offers great spooky fun. Gather fallen gnarled branches outside and “plant” them in a pot filled with dirt. Then let your creativity loose to make reusable ornaments:
- Cut bats, black cats, and ghosts out of leftover cardboard or paper scraps to hang with string or twine.
- Paint flat stones as mini gravestones (“RIP Single-Use Plastic”) and nestle them in the dirt surrounding your Halloween tree to create a spooky faux graveyard.
- Sculpt small pumpkins and figures out of clay. Make sure to save your creations to enjoy and build upon year after year.
4. Build Old-Fashioned Scarecrows
Dig into your rag bag or scrap pile for old clothes. Stuff them with hay, top them with a pumpkin or a stuffed burlap/paper grocery bag head, and draw on a face. After Halloween, shake out the hay for compost or garden mulch, wash the clothes for future use or donate them, and compost the rest.
4. Light Wisely
If you want to illuminate your spooky setup, use high quality long-lasting LED lights to reduce energy usage. Take care of them so they last for decades rather than ending up in the electronic waste stream. If you’re using candles, try to avoid anything that has to be thrown away once it’s been used, and buy local.
Candy: Minimize Packaging & Trash
Candy packaging is a classic example of designed-for-the-dump packaging—tiny bits of multi-layer plastic film and foil engineered to be impossible to recycle. While systemic change is needed from food manufacturers, here are a few ways to cut down on trick-or-treat waste:
- Start at the Bulk Bins: If you are hosting a party, visit your natural foods store or supermarket’s bulk section. Fill reusable bags with candy corn, chocolate drops, or gummies, and portion them into small compostable brown paper pouches or fabric tie-bags that can be used again.
- Package-Free or Paper-Packaged Candies: If you’re greeting trick-or-treaters but are concerned that parents may reject unpackaged treats as potentially unsafe or unsanitary, choose treats packaged in cardboard boxes or simple paper wrappers rather than in plastic film. Options like Dots, Milk Duds, Junior Mints, and Tootsie Rolls come in paper/cardboard packaging that are either recyclable or break down much faster than plastic or multi-layer wrappers.
- Give Something Other Than Candy:
- Coins: Little kids like shiny quarters, dimes and nickels (sorry pennies, your time has passed). If you’re really on your game, wash and dry the coins first to make sure they’re sparkling clean.
- Local Vouchers: Purchase small gift certificates or coupons from neighborhood ice cream shops, bakeries, or sweet shops to support your local economy while cutting out wasteful packaging altogether.
Remember…
Refusing to participate in seasonal landfill maxxing does NOT mean skipping the fun. The goal is to replace plastic pollution and hyper-consumption with creativity, resourcefulness, connection, and good times your whole family will remember for years to come.
P.S. Have a Halloween suggestion we’ve missed? Please share it on social media and tag us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, or X or email us about it at info [at] storyofstuff [dot] org.
WANT MORE TIPS?
Sign up below to get more tips and guidance for living a sustainable life filled with less Stuff and more of what really matters – like health, sustainability, joy, and connection.
Rest assured that we will never rent, sell, or exchange your address without your permission and you can unsubscribe at any time. View our privacy policy.
