Have a Spookily Sustainable Halloween

With Halloween just around the corner, we have some top tips to have a more sustainable spooky season this year.

Did you know an estimated 7 million Halloween costumes are thrown away every year (Hubbub, 2017), equating to 83 million plastic bottles!

And it doesn't get much better for your pumpkins - 15.8 million of them were set to be wasted last year (Censuswide, 2023) instead of being eaten!

So this year, #JoinUsPreston in making the pledge to have a more sustainable Halloween for our community and the wider environment.

Less Trick, More Treat

With the supermarkets full of sweets packaged in plastic ready for trick-or-treaters, opt for plastic-free treats this year without compromising on the fun.

1. Paper or foil wrapped sweets are easily recycled in your red and yellow lidded recycling bins at home.

Top tip

Plastic sweet wrappers can be taken to your local participating supermarket offering flexible plastic collections.

Find your nearest at Recycle Now    

2. Mini 'munchkin' pumpkins are available in most supermarkets and make a cute, affordable treat this year, especially if they are decorated like your favourite spooky characters! Plus, they can be used in some delicious recipes once Halloween is over. If you can't get hold of these, you could use fresh oranges or apples instead.

3. Get the whole family involved baking some frighteningly easy cookies this year and wrap up in paper bags ready for trick-or-treaters. Recipe below.

Recipe for some frighteningly easy cookies

• Mix 225g plain flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 150g unsalted butter, 75g caster sugar, 75g light brown sugar and 1 egg in a bowl
• Optional: Add 125g of chocolate chips, sprinkles, marshmallows or any other filling you like
• Roll into 12 balls and freeze for 30 minutes
• Bake at 180°C for 13-15 minutes until golden and allow to cool
• Mix 1 egg white with 250g icing sugar to form royal icing. Add food colouring to get a variety of colours and decorate the cookies however you like!

Eat Your Pumpkin

We are supporting environmental charity Hubbub's yearly campaign to encourage residents to #EatYourPumpkin after Halloween.

To make sure your pumpkin is as fresh as the day you bought it, why not try decorating your pumpkin instead of carving this year? There's less mess, less stress and a whole world of possibilities to make your pumpkins boo-tiful!

There's plenty of ways to #EatYourPumpkin, but a warming bowl of soup is one of the easiest recipes to make, just follow the instructions below.

Instructions for Pumpkin Soup

• Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a saucepan, adding 1 diced white onion and 2 chopped garlic cloves for 5 minutes
• Chop 1 pumpkin into chunks (peeled and deseeded) and add to the saucepan with a pinch of salt and pepper to cook for 10 minutes
• Pour 700ml of vegetable stock into the pan (you may need more or less depending on your preference) and boil for 10 minutes
• Add 150ml double cream and blend until smooth
• You can add other seasonings such as chilli flakes, curry powder or cinnamon to your taste.

Eat Your Pumpkin 2024 - YouTube Video by Hubbub

No More Zombie Costumes

Bring those old Halloween costumes back from the dead by giving them a new lease of life. We have 3 top tips for creating a creepily good costume this year:

1. Reuse what you already have in your wardrobe to create something new. How about painting an old t-shirt to look like skeleton bones? Or using parts of previous costumes to make a whole new character.
2. Costume swap with friends, family or your local community. If your little ones have grown out of last years costume, ask their school to host a swap event so you can save money and the environment.
3. Buy secondhand - lots of local charity shops have costumes for discounted prices available during October. Just remember to donate your old costume while you are there!

Show us your favourite sustainable swap this Halloween by using the hashtag #JoinUsPreston on social media.