You've got the tricks, you've got the treats, but have you considered making Halloween a little greener this year? Lynn Colwell and Colwell-Lipson, co-authors of the book Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, recently sat down with Jennifer Ludden and Jolene Ivy from NPR (National Public Radio) to discuss ways in which we can all make Halloween a little more environmentally friendly this year.
One tip that will save you time, money and help the environment is to recycle decorations each year. When Halloween is over take down the scarecrows, decorative cobwebs, spiders, goblins, etc and box them up for next year. You can even make a tradition of decorating each year with friends and family when you take down the box from the previous year.
When considering which lights to purchase to give your home that orange and purple glow Colwell-Lipson recommends you stay away from the incandescent varieties. These types of lights use up a lot of energy and tend to get very hot. A better alternative would be the LED lights which use up 90 percent less energy than the incandescent and they last longer too. Natural beeswax candles are of course the most energy efficient option and will give your house a truly spooky ambiance.
Reusing old costumes is another great way to be eco-friendly this year. Jolene Ivy explains that her kids sometimes give her a hard time about wearing the same ninja costume they wore the previous year, but she explains, "In the end they just want to go out and trick or treat. They're not real picky." Another idea is to host a costume exchange party so your kids will have new-to-them costumes each year. And if your kids really have their heart set on a specific costume maybe you could make something from items you have at home rather than go out and purchase one of those costumes in a bag.
You can find more green Halloween tips from Colwell and Colwell-Lipson's website GreenHalloween.org.
What do you think of incorporating eco-friendly ideas into your Halloween this year?
Do you have any of your own special tips for going green this Halloween?
Most of us, I believe, do recycle decorations and costumes. Here's a good tip: Get one of those big rubbermaid tubs with lids and use one for each season. They hold tons of decorations!
farmerbrown2002::
on Nov 02, 2009
We recycle the costumes.Also use our grocery bags.The cloth ones which you can find free on some sites.
AimeeAken::
on Nov 12, 2009
We use the costumes to play "dress up" so they are used more than just for Halloween. :)
We have used the same halloween cloth bags for years.. machine washable and still in good shape. I use the same decorations year after year as well and store them in a storage bin with lid. I try to buy the ones that fit the color of the holiday to find easy (Orange with a black lid for Halloween, Red with green lids for Christmas).
The only thing I wish I could recycle is all of this candy! LOL!
You can always if you receive an over abundance of candy donate some to the children's home or hospital. They really appreciate it!
carrothead::
on Nov 29, 2009
When I go to any fast food rest. I get there kids meals save the prizes for treat on haloween . Kids love it . I go to grab machine for the under 3 kids. I have plastic pumkin I turn around and use it for thankgiving on the front porch.
