What’s Going On Here?
Recent research has estimated Halloween celebrations in the UK to generate more than 2,000 tonnes of plastic textile waste and 8 million pumpkins worth of food waste – news that really is truly terrifying.
What Does This Mean?
Hubbub worked with the charity, Fairyland Trust to survey 19 retailers of Halloween outfits to find that 83% of more than 300 pieces of clothing were made using oil-based plastic fabrics. That’s the same weight of plastic as 83 million Coca Cola bottles.
‘The scariest thing about Halloween is now plastic’
The Fairyland Trust
Hubbub has also shone a light on the waste that traditional pumpkin carving is likely to create because 60% of carvers admit they don’t use the flesh afterward.
This means more than 18,000 tonnes of edible pumpkin flesh is headed straight for the bin!
Why Should We Care?
The halloween outfits were found to be made from plastic based textiles such as nylon, polyester, acrylic and spandex. So when less than 13% of this halloween fabric is recycled worldwide with the majority of outfits being worn just once, we have a big waste issue!Worse still, the statistics shared above doesn’t even take into account the masses of Halloween themed food packaging, buckets, wigs and decorations we see in the shops at this time of year so we can actually predict a larger waste footprint.
As for the pumpkins, we all know what we think about waste, especially when it’s contributing to £15 billion of food waste a year from UK homes.
Be Curious!
- If you’ve got a Halloween party coming up, consider renting a costume, reusing a friend’s from last year or head to a charity shop- they usually put their seasonal fancy dress out on display around this time of year.
- Check out ideas for easy waste-free costumes here and here.
- If you’re carving a pumpkin, check out this useful guide on how to eat what parts of the pumpkin
- If you’re taking little terrors trick or treating, resist the bright buckets in the shops and think about using an alternative like these.
- If you’re hosting, look at some of these genuinely scary edible and waste free ideas.
- Sip on Toast Ale’s beer brewed from rescued pumpkins.
