From Plastic Horror to Sustainable Celebration | What to do with your Halloween Waste

The scariest thing about Halloween is not the ghosts...

Happy Halloween!?

This time of year can be a lot of fun. Getting spooky, dressing up in Halloween costumes and carving pumpkins are activities a lot of people enjoy getting involved in.?

However, this time of year can also result in a rise of single-use plastic items, food waste and, indirectly, increased carbon emissions.??

The Environmental Impact of Halloween?

83% of Halloween costumes are plastic and are often worn once then thrown out. The same goes for Halloween decorations and treats, which are often difficult to recycle. At Recorra, we are proud of our Circular box to help collect and recycle these typically difficult-to-recycle materials.??

Another issue to tackle at Halloween and during the holidays is food waste. 18,000 tonnes of pumpkin is estimated to be thrown out each year.? Improper disposal of food waste in this way is a huge contributor to methane production, an even more destructive greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.??

With the introduction of mandatory food recycling for businesses coming in as soon as March next year, now is the perfect time to implement food waste recycling. Recorra’s dedicated food waste collections makes commercial food waste management simple. We help businesses to collect their food waste, improve their recycling rates and reduce their carbon emissions. Contact our Helpdesk if you would like to know more about our food waste service.??

How Can Recorra and Your Business Celebrate Halloween Sustainably?

Linear economy and the buy-to-throw mindset has turned Halloween into a single-use and plastic filled horror. If your business is getting involved this time of year, there are plenty of ways you can celebrate Halloween sustainably.??

• Know where your waste goes: decorations covered in blood and gore aren’t exactly useable around the office all year round, so for what you can’t save for next year, know where your waste goes. Recorra offer recycling solutions for 38 distinct materials, meaning recycling is maximised. Download our Where does my recycling go? Brochure here to view our transparent end destinations for you waste.?

Check your decorations and costumes packaging and use our guides to help you recycle your Halloween. By offering expert advice and recycling services to businesses, we are doing our bit to work towards a circular economy and stop waste. Understanding plastics and commercial waste management can be intimidating, so for more information talk to our London based helpdesk or get a quick quote here.??

• Sourcing Sustainably: For those carving pumpkins with your colleagues, buy your pumpkins from a local farm shop.?

?Eating seasonal and local produce has so many benefits from waste reduction to reduced carbon emissions to supporting local farmers.??

• Food not waste: Pumpkins can be eaten (according to Martha Stewart) up to 3-5 days after being carved.??

There are plenty of recipes online for what to do with you pumpkin including: roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pie and simply roasted pumpkin which goes great with a Sunday Roast.?

• Tackle food insecurity: Recorra partners with Plan Zheroes to help tackle food waste and give back to the community.??

By partnering with this charity, we help stop surplus food going to waste and support local communities struggling with food insecurity. For every food waste collection we carry out, we donate the equivalent of one meal to Plan Zheroes.?

• You don’t have to neglect your sweet tooth to avoid plastic waste: There are many easy options for you to honour your sweet tooth without the plastic guilt.?

Choose sweets with recyclable wrapping like Smarties which can go in your dry mixed recycling.??

Recorra’s circular box is a solution for those other, difficult to recycle food wrappers. With its own dedicated collection point that can fit on your desktop, it is easy to recycle those trick-or-treat sweets.?

• Enjoy getting creative and avoid buying new decorations: Get circular, use what you already own or what is already being thrown out.??

A bit of paint and creativity can go a long way and can be a great bonding exercise for you colleagues. Check out our sustainable Office Supplies for better options for your business.?