Spooky. Can you imagine how much plastic is wasted on Halloween?
The UK’s passion to get spooky is burning a hole in the planet leading Halloween costumes becoming a single-use accessory for the season. This time of the year is creating the ‘use and throw away culture’ among youths and adults, generating tones of plastic wastes in just one week. Scary isn’t it?
The most celebrated event by children, students and adults in the United Kingdom is approaching: Halloween. This festivity is creeping into every corner of Britain, and soon the entire streets will be occupied by pumpkins, skeletons, witches and monsters, as well as people thinking about the best costume to wear that special night. But what will happen to those costumes after midnight? Finally, the majority of the plastic clothing will end up at the bin when the clock ticks midnight.
That is the scariest thing of Halloween, the vast amount of plastic generated by the production and consumption of costumes, now being more popularized because of celebration events and parties among the local.
The latest research conducted by Fairyland Trust and supported by Hubbub shows the scariest amount of plastic waste that Halloween generates: over two thousand tonnes. Most of the costumes worn in are mainly made 100% of polyester material, which is equivalent to 83 million plastic bottles, but let’s simply face all this:
Where does this problem begin?
This amount of costume consumption and therefore, plastic consumption is due to big market chains and shops such as Wilko or PoundWorld. Their Halloween campaign and the facility to get a good costume effortless makes people want to buy their costume, turning these shops the top choice for lots of British customers when looking for their Halloween clothing.
Looking closely how companies help to make a greener Halloween
Approaching the companies named before, it is found out that it’s hard not to be tempted to take the easy path when it comes to choosing how to be dressed in Halloween.
First of all, Wilko, in Preston, provided a wide range of Halloween clothing and accessories with suitable prices from 6 pounds. But surprisingly nearly all of them are tagged with recycling symbols, costumes had their Widely recycled or CARD widely recycled label — meaning that those costumes are collected by 75% local authorities across the UK -.
The other way around happens in PoundWorld, this big company is yet to be environmentally friendly, as — like in most of the products they sell — they are not available to recycle, and 100% made from polyester.
Why not choosing to have a green Halloween?
If you still want to follow the easy path of buying a costume, there are other options for you. There are a huge amount of second-hand shops that sell costumes. It is a great place to hunt for a unique slash environment-friendly outfit, with no worry of being scared by the plastic ghost popping out to at night.
“People put their items in the bin if they don’t want them anymore. Whereas now they can bring them to us and we have a rag facility so that saves tones and tones going in to landfill” Mary, manager at Age Concern
‘Age Concern’ is a popular charity and second-hand clothing shop. There you can find adult and children costumes, having the most popular outfits for this year: witches, monsters, clowns and skeletons.
This shop will save all of those Halloween costumes that they have this year and sorted them in special storage for next year celebration. Find out their working method and how they manage to have green Halloween!
Don’t think it is over, because ‘Lancashire age UK’, another charity shop also provides a small amount donated slash of new Halloween costumes for the local. Rose, volunteer in the shop explains that the majority of their unsold festive products will be moved and stored in other chain stores for the future.
What about making your costume?
If you don’t want to buy one from the charity, then go and make one yourself. Many people are willing to make their costumes, cheap and environmental idea, as then all the materials you have used, can be used for anything else. Find out what people in Preston will do in Halloween!
QUIZ TIME!
Answer the following questions to see how well you know about costume polluting the planet and plastic waste in Halloween. The winner would be announced in a week. Soon we will give clues about the prize. Give it a try!
Do not miss out …
Great ideas on how to make a DIY costume that won’t spook the planet. By Hubbub.
