Go green this Halloween

The Isle of Wight Council is urging residents to go green this Halloween and help reduce the environmental impact of the spooky season.

Halloween is one of the biggest waste-generating events in the UK, with plastic decorations, sweet wrappers, costumes and pumpkins all contributing to a scary amount of rubbish. But small changes can make a big difference.

Frightening facts:

• Over seven million Halloween costumes are thrown away in the UK each year.
• Around 18,000 tonnes of pumpkins end up in the bin, that’s about £29 million worth of food waste.
• 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste, equal to 83 million plastic bottles, is created every Halloween.
• The average trick-or-treater produces 450g of waste, mostly non-recyclable plastic.

Top tips for a greener Halloween

Costumes and decorations

• Decorate differently: use minimal or reusable items, or get crafty with what you already have.
• Swap or upcycle costumes: share with friends or give an old outfit a spooky twist.

Pumpkin and food waste

• Don’t bin your pumpkin! Try soups, pies or roasted seeds. Visit Love Food Hate Waste for tasty ideas.
• Freeze leftover party food to enjoy another time.
• Use your food caddy for any food you can’t eat — including leftover pumpkin.

Recycling and disposal

• Paper decorations and cardboard sweet boxes can go in the recycling bin.
• Metallic-lined sweet wrappers cannot be recycled and should go in your general waste.

Natasha Dix, service director for waste, environment and planning, said: “Halloween should be about fun, not waste.

"With a few simple steps, we can all reduce the environmental impact of our celebrations and help protect our planet for future generations.

"Let’s make this Halloween a little less scary for the environment.”

If you don’t have an indoor or outdoor food caddy, you can order both for free at www.iow.gov.uk/waste or contact the waste and recycling team on (01983) 823777.