Every October, pumpkins light up porches, costumes fill the streets, and homes transform into haunted worlds. It’s fun, creative, and a little chaotic, but it also comes with a cost that often goes unseen. Plastic waste, food waste, and high energy use turn Halloween into one of the least sustainable celebrations of the year.

The good news? It doesn’t have to be that way. With just a few smart changes, we can keep the magic of Halloween alive while dramatically reducing its environmental footprint. Let’s aim for a Sustainable Halloween!

Turning something scary into something sustainable might just be the most magical trick of all, and whilst we are here, maybe we can make sustainability less scary itself by rolling up our sleeves and creating anew.

The Hidden Impact Behind Halloween

Each October, millions of people buy decorations, costumes, and sweets that end up in the bin just days later. Around 83% of costumes are made of plastic fibres like polyester and PVC that don’t biodegrade, according to ABC News. Most of these end up in landfills after a single use. Meanwhile, Americans throw away roughly 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins every year, as noted by Florida State University’s Sustainable Campus. When those pumpkins decompose without oxygen, they release methane (CH₄), a greenhouse gas about 25 times stronger than CO₂ in terms of warming potential, as highlighted by Reasons to Be Cheerful.

Beyond waste, the production, and shipping of Halloween goods add up in global emissions; Atmos Earth reports that mass-produced decorations and costumes can have a carbon footprint lasting for decades. For a broader view of how culture and travel can shift toward sustainability, see our piece Why Sustainability in Travel and Tourism Deserves a New Conversation.

The Pumpkin: From Decoration to Delicious

The pumpkin is the heart of Halloween, and also its biggest source of waste. The simplest sustainable habit? Use the entire pumpkin.

Turn the pulp into a creamy soup; Take Care of Texas notes that the flesh is rich in fibre, beta-carotene, and minerals like potassium. Roast it with onions, garlic, and plant milk for a warm autumn flavour. The seeds (often overlooked) are full of magnesium and healthy fats; just clean, season, and bake them slowly for a crisp, zero-waste snack.

If your pumpkin isn’t edible, composting it is far better than binning it. In oxygen-rich compost, decomposition releases only minimal CO₂ instead of methane, according to Take Care of Texas. Many farms and zoos also welcome unpainted pumpkins as animal feed, Reasons to Be Cheerful highlights this as a circular solution that keeps organic waste in use.

And if you want to get creative, repurpose the shell as a planter or bird feeder before composting it, another small win for a circular mindset.

Rethinking Costumes and Decorations

A sustainable Halloween thrives on creativity, and creativity doesn’t have to mean consumption. In fact, many of these ideas align with our own Sustonica Criteria for City Apartments & Townhouses, which promote reuse, recycling, and responsible design.

Costumes

Repurposing what you already own, an old jacket, a scarf, or a simple bedsheet, can spark better ideas than store-bought plastic outfits. ABC News suggests adding small DIY touches instead of buying new. If you need something fresh, consider renting or swapping costumes; Dalhousie University researchers estimate that costume exchanges can reduce waste dramatically. Buying second-hand is even better, Play It Green reports up to 94% lower carbon emissions compared to buying new. Whenever possible, choose natural fabrics like cotton, hemp, or bamboo, which don’t shed microplastics (Duke University).

Decorations

Forget single-use plastic cobwebs. Use branches, leaves, or dried flowers from your garden. TED Initiative recommends glass jars with LED or solar lights as lanterns, saving both electricity and waste. Painting decorations? Go for water-based or natural pigments, Reasons to Be Cheerful warns that petroleum-based paints can leach toxins once discarded. Store and reuse your pieces each year; durability is the real trend.

Sweet Treats, Smarter Choices

The sugar rush is fun; the plastic aftermath isn’t. Opt for bulk candy instead of individual mini-packs, a tip echoed by ABC News. Choose brands using recyclable or compostable wrappers, or make your own cookies and roasted nuts wrapped in paper. Non-edible treats like seed packets or small pencils can also delight kids while cutting waste. And skip the plastic buckets: a simple cloth tote or pillowcase works perfectly for trick-or-treating.

The Science Behind Small Actions

Composting pumpkins avoids methane emissions, and reusing decorations prevents new plastic production, both of which directly cut greenhouse gases. If every household composted one pumpkin and reused a costume, communities could prevent thousands of tons of CO₂-equivalent emissions, roughly the same as taking several thousand cars off the road for a week.

Keep It Real

One of the great things of Halloween is seeing the small things glow… Recycling autumn leaves and cardboard boxes turned into trick or treat costumes, pumpkins with candlelight… Not everyone can compost or sew, and that’s fine. Start small; reuse your costume, cook your pumpkin, or say no to single-use decor. Each act builds new habits and nudges culture in a better direction.

Halloween has always been about transformation. Maybe this year, that transformation includes how we celebrate. Turning something scary into something sustainable might just be the most magical trick of all.

Happy Sustainable Halloween! 🎃

Learn more about how sustainable practices apply year-round in our overview of the Sustonica Certification Framework for Country Homes.