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TIP OF THE WEEK: 'Tis the season to be Hallo'green'

Sustainable Orillia reminds us there are ways to reduce, reuse and recycle in every aspect of celebrating Halloween
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EDITOR'S NOTEOrilliaMatters is partnering with Sustainable Orillia to publish a weekly tip. Check back here every Tuesday evening for a new tip. For more information, visit the Sustainable Orillia website.

--With thanks to Emily Chung and CBC’s What on Earth?

Halloween, like many holidays, often produces a lot of waste. But it doesn’t have to.

There are ways to reduce, reuse and recycle in every aspect of celebrating Halloween, says Caitlin Perry, program manager for the Recycling Council of Ontario (RCO). Here are some of her tips:

Costumes
The greenest option to buying a new costume every year — and often the most interesting and fun — is to make your own.

“Just look in your closet and see what materials you might already have at home to create a new costume,” Perry says. It’s a rare closet that doesn’t hold the makings of a good, imaginative costume.

If that sounds too time-consuming, how about trading costumes with a friend, or buying a used costume on-line or at Value Village?

If you really want to buy a new costume this year, Perry recommends:

  • Getting one that is made of high-quality materials that you or others will be able to wear again and again;
  • Avoiding cheap plastic fabrics, which often fray and shed microplastics and wind up in our water;
  • Staying away from glitter and sparkles - also sources of microplastics;
  • Avoiding cheap plastic accessories such as flimsy plastic masks. These are usually designed to be thrown away after use. The trouble is, there’s no “away” any more.

Decorations
Try making your own Halloween decorations from up-cycled or natural materials such as pine cones, leaves or gourds, Perry says. The RCO’s Plastic Action Centre recommends using cardboard boxes to make tombstones, or up-cycling packaging materials into cats, bats, pumpkins and ghosts.

If you really want to buy something, get durable decorations that can be re-used every year — avoid decorations designed to be thrown away after one use. (Artificial spiderwebs, we’re looking at you!)

Pumpkins
Please don’t get an artificial pumpkin! “Go out and buy a real one,” Perry says. When carving it, she recommends using every part that you can, such as saving the seeds to roast and eat as snacks.

Of course, if you left your pumpkin uncarved, you can cook and eat the entire thing after you cut or scrub off non-edible stuff. Make a pumpkin pie from scratch with your kids!

Once you’re done with your pumpkin, compost it or put it in your green bin, or donate it to a local farm for the animals to enjoy, if they accept such donations.

Treats 
While public health officials have recommended people take special precautions  when giving out candy the tradition will likely continue in Orillia – if on a reduced scale.

Many tiny treats given out at Halloween come in non-recyclable plastic packaging. Perry recommends the (few) options that come in cardboard boxes, such as Smarties or Glosettes.

Perry notes that many of these tips can and should be extended beyond Halloween to make a bigger difference: “Always think about the three Rs every holiday — and every day of your life.”

Happy Halloween!


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