Zero Waste: ENERGY
Whether you have a gas burning stove or an all-electric stove, this Halloween challenge yourself to make delicious treats without them! Most common nowadays is the electric stove, which can typically use between 1000 to 5000 watts of electricity, depending on the temperature needed. You can save energy, money, and time when you choose to utilize your oven less often. I found countless no-bake recipes with a quick search and tried out a few. ILACSD staff member, Erika, also had a no-bake cheesecake recipe up her sleeve!
Here are some simply spooky spells & treats:
No Bake Monster Teeth:
Erika’s no-bake cheesecake:
Zero Waste: PLASTIC PACKAGING
No Halloween is complete without candy! Unfortunately, most candy comes wrapped in plastic packaging that is then placed in more plastic packaging to hold the assortment of treats. This creates unnecessary waste that will end up in our landfill since candy wrappers are not recyclable. One of the great things about buying in bulk is that you can control the amount you purchase and often times the price of candy is way cheaper than mainstream options. Bring a reusable cloth bag or mason jar to fill up on wicked treats that range from chocolates to gummy worms! Buying in bulk completely eliminates the need for single-use plastic bags and excessive packaging.
Zero Waste: GOURDS (PUMPKINS AND SQUASH)
Every year millions of pounds of pumpkins make their way into trash cans and ultimately rot in the landfill, adding to the amount of methane released into our environment. The Fall season is the perfect time to decorate with a variety of squash, but it also is the perfect time to cook or bake with them too. These delicious fruits often meet an early grave so consider these good, better, best, worst practices when picking out your pumpkin this year.
Good: Carving the pumpkin à baking the seeds or saving the bigger seeds to grow for next year à throwing away the rest of the pumpkin
Better: Carving the pumpkin or opt to decorate it with non-toxic materials to extend its life as decor à baking the seeds or saving the bigger seeds to grow for next year àcarving out most of the pumpkin flesh to puree and cook with à composting any leftover pumpkin material
Best: Decorating the pumpkin with non-toxic materials (so it will last longer as a decoration) or not decorating at all (the pumpkin is a work of art itself!) à bake the seeds or save bigger seeds for next year’s harvest à puree the pumpkin flesh to make countless yummy Fall season dishes (pumpkin bread or pie, pancakes, hummus, lasagna), freeze leftover pureeà peel the skin to dehydrate for delicious crispy, pumpkin crisps à compost any leftover pumpkin material
Worst: Carving the pumpkin à throwing every part of the pumpkin away
Zero Waste: Shopping
Streamline your Halloween shopping this year by incorporating some zero waste techniques. Repurposing is a tier in the zero waste hierarchy that is perfect for the occasion and allows for creativity to flow. Create your haunted Halloween world by reusing or repurposing decorations. If you’re planning a spooktacular celebration, borrow decorations from friends or hit some thrift stores. Second-hand stores are gold mines for inexpensive décor and costumes!
NEW WASTEFREESD COMING SOON
Feeling inspired? Look out for a freshly redesigned WasteFreeSD.org coming to a computer, phone, or tablet near you! This is San Diego County’s zero waste database, a resource that allows residents to find options to Reduce, Repurpose, Donate, Repair, and Recycle a certain item. The database has served as a resource for nearly 10 years and we are excited to share all the new features of it soon.
TRASH OR TREAT
Attention all ghouls, goblins, and witches! If you’re looking for one more way to get involved this Halloween, join the ILACSD and Surfrider Foundation’s Hold On To Your Butt Committee to help remove debris on October 29th in North Park! For additional information, visit the event page.
