Hey Green Junkie,
It’s that time of year again where the ghosts and goblins come out to play and Halloween movies are playing on repeat.
While it’s such a fun time of year for families and kids – it can also be a pretty wasteful time of year as well.
So on today’s podcast episode, I’m giving you my favorite tips and tricks to have a green Halloween holiday without compromising the fun or the scare.
In this episode I will touch on:
- How much waste is generated on a typical halloween night
- Healthier and greener candy alternatives
- What to do with all that halloween trash
- How to create greener costumes
- Greenify your candy collection
If you love this podcast be sure to leave a review and share a screenshot of this episode to your IG stories. Tag @thisisstephaniemoram so I can shout you out and publicly say thanks.
Thanks for listening and being here.
Your green bestie,
Xoxo Stephanie
Resources:
Candy Mentioned:
Other Green Ideas Mentioned:
Local Thrift Shops
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Groups for Halloween Swaps
Buy Nothing Groups on FB
eBay
Poshmark
Kijiji
Previous Episodes Mentioned
#4. Sustainable Fall Decorating
#19. 23 Ways to Reduce Plastic in 2022
#30. Changing the Fashion Game with Camille Lee
#53. Easy Ways to Live Waste Free
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Wanna go the extra green miles? Binge (and download) my complimentary audio series to reduce your waste and learn how to consume less in just five days!
Produced by: Alecia Harris
Music By: Liz Fohle
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TRANSCRIPT FOR EPISODE 58
0:08
Hi, Green Junkie, I'm your host, Stephanie Moram and today I want to talk about all things Halloween. I'm sure you're thinking about your costumes and candy that you're gonna give out, perhaps your decorations, we're going to talk about all of that. But before we jump into having a conversation about a scary Halloween, you can head over to my Instagram and Tiktok @thisisstephaniemoram and you can follow me there. If you also want to reduce your waste and learn how to consume less in five days, you can also binge my complimentary audio series, you'll find everything linked below. Anything I talked about in this episode will be linked below. So now, on to our episode all about Halloween.
0:57
The Halloween season is a time for all things scary – ghosts, goblins, and garbage. That's right, an average single trick or treater generates one pound of trash. That's a lot of trash for one little human, from the non recyclable candy wrappers to the plastic that is used to create decorations around this holiday and also the plastic that's used for the different costumes. We create a lot of trash. So I'm going to share with you four ways how you can make this holiday season a little bit more sustainable. So let's start with the candy.
1:37
Everyone's gonna get candy, right? Kids want candy. But are there better options out there? Besides the traditional candy that is full of red dyes and blue dyes? And like high fructose, high fructose corn syrup, and all that crap? There is better candy out there. There's also perhaps better packaging. And can you also buy organic candy? I think that's the question that a lot of people ask me like, I want better candy than the traditional one. So I have a couple of companies that I do love that are better options, like I said than the traditional one. And you can either swap these candies out for your kids when they come home, or it's candy that you can just give it.
2:20
So my number one favorite candy is Surf Sweets. They make lollipops they make gummies. And what I like about this company is that they come out every season with a candy that is associated with that season, like that holiday. So right now they have lollipops, they have gummies, all centered around Halloween. And last year, they came out with a new candy. And they're just like Skittles, they're delicious, but minus all the crappy dyes that come along with it.
2:53
So YumEarth is a great option. They're organic. Again, it's sugar, right? It's sugar, but it's a better option. Another company that I do really like is Made Good. They make granola bars, and little like bowls of granola bars. And they make smaller versions. So that's something that you can also give it on Halloween. They're also organic. There's surf sweets, again, they make gummy bears. And you can give these out during the holiday season. And other company organic as well. They make tons of candies, but not just candies. They make other products as well. All organic, so again, a better option when it comes to giving out candy.
3:35
If you're looking for candy bars, right, you're like okay, Stephanie, you're talking about lollipops and gummies and like Skittle type candies, but I want chocolate bars. There is a company called Unreal candy and they are very good. You can actually buy their products at Costco. A lot of the companies I just mentioned, you'll find them link below but you can also find them at Costco. So they make candy bars or chocolate bars that stem from the traditional ones. So they're just better ingredients. I think I was at Costco with a friend of mine. And I saw a bag they looked like the bounty talk about if you remember those chocolate bars, they are coconut and then they cover them in chocolate. Well they had a version of that it was not as sweet. But it was good. It was really really good. So they tried to take those traditional chocolate bars and make them a little bit healthier. And also most of the time they have organic ingredients in those chocolate bars.
4:36
And another company that I actually buy all year is Annie's bunnies. So they make little gummy bears that are shaped like bunnies and they're also organic and you can get those at most stores. So that these are a couple of options for candy, if you just really don't want your kids eating a ton of traditional candy And if you don't want them eating all this candy, what I've done in the past, my kids are a bit older now, so I tend to do it a little bit less. But when they were younger, I would tell them pick 10 candies out of the bag, and they would pick those 10 candies, and then the rest, my husband would take to work, we would donate it, we would just kind of get rid of them, and then we would swap them out for the better version. So we would get the Annis bunnies, we would get the unreal chocolate bars, we would get those things. So they didn't feel like they were missing out. On Halloween, they were still getting something, they're a little bit older now.
5:34
And I'm not as concerned with the amount of candy that they're eating, we just kind of track it a little bit better. But again, they don't keep all the candy, they usually generally keep some of the chocolate bars, some of the chips, and then we get rid of the gum, and those super hard candies. And then I do buy the organic candy. And that is an option for them. Once I get rid of like like that crappy candy, you know traditional candy that's like super hard, and you can only get it at Halloween. And you're wondering why is this candy is actually created. And it's probably only created for Halloween. That's the candy that we get rid of. And like I said, we keep usually the chocolate bars, some of the gummies and the chips and stuff like that. So there's definitely better versions out there of candy.
6:24
If you have a little bit of extra money, and you want to give this candy out on Halloween, that's also an option. And it's also an option for you to swap it out and add that to your kids candy bag instead of eating all that traditional candy.
6:39
And you might be questioning the waste that is associated with all these candies. Because there is a lot of waste. You're right, there's a ton of waste that is associated with candy. But I do have an idea for you. TerraCycle is a great option where you can dump those wrappers. So what is TerraCycle I've mentioned it a couple of times on my podcast. But again, I want to mention it again. They take your trash and transform it upcycle it into other products. So bags benches, there's just tons of things if you go to their website, you'll see all the different things that they transform trash into. They are they offer you to recycle candy wrappers. So that is how I kind of found them was many years ago, I was like what am I going to do with all these wrappers. And I found TerraCycle and was like oh my gosh, they take candy wrappers. Perfect. So I actually started collecting candy wrappers from my sister. I said, keep your candy wrappers, I'm gonna take them I'm gonna give them to TerraCycle. And what I do like about TerraCycle is they offer free programs. And then they also offer paid programs. So if you have a little bit of extra money in your budget, and you want to have a specific way to recycle things, like a specific like just candy wrappers, just this, then you can pay or they have their free programs. In the United States, they have way more options of the free programs versus let's say Canada and Europe, but they are still out there. TerraCycle is available in Canada, the United States, parts of Europe, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, you can check out their website. And you can see what TerraCycle does, and what free programs they have, depending on what country you live in depends on the free program that they offer.
8:23
And like I mentioned, everything will be linked below that I talked about on this episode. So you don't need to take tons of notes. As you're listening, you can just enjoy the podcast.
8:34
So let's talk about costumes. So you're going to buy a costume that is potentially just going to be for like one night, or maybe two days if they wear them to school. And then what happens with that costume a lot of the time it ends up in the trash. So how can you save some money and avoid putting kind of costumes in the trash all the time. So one option is to thrift, thrift or costumes. Go to a thrift store and buy a costume. You can buy costumes that are already put together. You don't need to DIY your costumes. But you go to a thrift store and you'll find tons of costume so that's an option. Then you could also DIY and thrift your costume.
9:19
So what we did last year my daughter wanted to be a zombie nurse the year before she was a zombie schoolgirl I feel like there's a theme now because I think this year she wants to be a zombie grandmother. Anyways, so last year we went on Facebook marketplace we bought nurse scrubs. Then we went to the thrift shop and we got some add ons to make it look a little bit more like a nurse. Then when we got home I ripped up the scrubs. We put like makeup all over it to make the costume look dirty. You know put made her hair all messy and teased it you know back like in the 80s we teased her hair and then we put more makeup on and she just looked like a zombie. And it was like like a hybrid version, we DIY it, it and we also thrifted it. So that can be an option for you. If you don't want to spend a ton of money, there's really no use and spending a lot of money on Halloween costumes, because you can find them secondhand, I can guarantee probably 95% of the time you will find the costume you are looking for a secondhand.
10:21
If you don't find it on Facebook marketplace, or you don't find it in a thrift shop, you can go to Poshmark. You can go to eBay, you can google and find another secondhand store or somewhere on the internet where they also so I can't list all the places off the top of my head. That's all secondhand clothing, but and Google search, quick Google search and you will find those things.
10:45
And also last week, I think it was I was in a Facebook group like a mom's Facebook group. And they started a swap. So they started a thread on Facebook and said, Hey, we have all these costumes. We don't know what to do with them, Can we do a swap? So then moms were just like I have, I don't know, a lion costume. For a four year old. If you want it, send me a message. And someone was like I'm looking for an Aladdin costume. If you have it, can you send me a message. So that's a great way where you don't actually have to spend any money, you can just swap your costumes. And in the United States, more than in Canada, there's a lot of buy nothing groups, which are Facebook groups, check those out, go into those groups and see if anyone is getting rid of their Halloween costumes. And then you can actually get a free Halloween costume.
11:36
Next up, let's talk about decorations. Growing up, we did a little bit of decorations, but I'm not a super decoration person. And maybe it's because we lived in a condo for so long. And we couldn't really decorate now that we're in a house, our kids are very much into the decorating. So my daughter's birthday falls in October. And last year, she wanted to have a scary birthday party. So instead of just buying some random decorations, I took to Facebook marketplace and found a boatload of Halloween decorations actually didn't know what was in the boxes, they kind of gave a couple of pictures. But I was pretty confident there was going to be some cool shit in there. So I bought like four bins, like Halloween decorations. And it was great because it was for her birthday. But then it was also we decorated outside for Halloween. And then at the end, we went through all the decorations again, and really kept what we wanted to keep instead of just keeping stuff for the sake of keeping it. And then the rest we actually donated. And then this year, my daughter wanted to have a detectives escape room type of theme for her birthday, which happened to be last weekend is when we celebrated. So she got off the bands and she decorated the whole basement with that scary theme. And now probably this weekend, we're going to decorate outside. So we're going to keep these Halloween decorations probably for a pretty long time. And it didn't cost that much money.
13:08
So there are ways that you can reduce your waste and save money at the same time. If you choose to go to the store and buy decorations, because you just don't have the time to thrift or you don't really want to buy secondhand, which is totally cool. Maybe just look at those decorations and try to find decorations that will last longer. Instead of getting the flimsy plastic decorations. Maybe look for stuff that's made to last, you know harder decorations, stuff made with materials that will last a little bit longer. So you can use them year after year versus those plastic decorations that are gonna fall apart at the end of Halloween and then you trash it and then next year you have to spend more money to buy more decoration. So I think they're just some great ways to save money. And also be kind and gentle to the environment when you buy secondhand.
14:03
When it comes to your pumpkins, we all get pumpkins, right? So, you know, use pumpkins or decorations. But save those pumpkin seeds. They're delicious. Roast them in the oven and that's going to reduce a little bit of your waste. I mean, you could technically eat the pumpkin. We don't tend to carve a pumpkin all the time right away because we want to eat the pumpkin so we kind of just put the pumpkins outside as decoration. And then at the end of Halloween, then we open it up and then we roast the pumpkin seeds and then we actually use a pumpkin to make soup because if you cut up the pumpkin and leave it outside, you're probably not going to want to eat it. Probably gonna be full of bugs so you might want to avoid that. But don't forget to compost. So if you do cut up your your pumpkin, compost it. If you have composting at home, you know or you have local composting, just try to get rid of it before you throw it in the trash. That's definitely going to reduce your waste.
14:58
And lastly, If your bags, how are you collecting your candy? How are your kids collecting their candy. So a couple of options can be a pillowcase. If you have a reusable bag, which most of you probably have, if you grocery shop, you have some sort of reusable bag, grab that a backpack. Because if you collect a lot of candy, maybe you don't want to just carry it, you want to put it on your back. So grab something around the house that you already have, instead of going out and buying a bag. It's kind of wasteful, and a waste of money because we all want to save money, right? So if you can save money by not buying a bag for Halloween, that is a win. If you really really want to go buy a bag again, I'm gonna say this thrift shop you will find tons of things at a thrift store or go to Facebook marketplace and look up Halloween candy bag, and I'm pretty sure you're gonna find tons of things there so you don't have to buy new you really don't and I truly believe not even about Halloween just in general. You can find so many things on Facebook marketplace Poshmark eBay, Kijiji thrift stores, you can find so many things. And I do also believe that someone's trash is definitely your treasure. So just think outside of the box.
16:19
So there you have it. These are four ways that you can have a more sustainable Halloween. Just be mindful of your choices and do the best you can't. It's not about being perfectly green. It's about being imperfectly green. Let's put the care back and scare. We don't have to be wasteful during this holiday, we can be have a responsible Halloween. And like I said, just do the best that you can with the resources you have.
16:54
For more sustainable living inspiration, I have a bunch of other episodes. Episode number four is Sustainable Fall Decorating episode 19 23 Ways to Reduce Plastic. Episode 15, Changing the Fashion Game with Camille Lee and episode 53 Easy Ways to Live a More Green Life. Please share this episode with your friends, co workers, your mom, your dad, your uncle, anyone. I would really really appreciate it. If you did share – maybe your chiropractor would be interested in this episode. So just share click the link and share. Stay connected with me on Instagram and TikTok @thisisstephaniemoram. And don't forget to subscribe to the Green Junkie podcast on whatever platform you listen. And just a reminder, you can download my complimentary audio series. You will find everything I mentioned down below with links. Thank you for listening and I'll see you next Tuesday Green Junkie.
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