Low Waste Halloween Ideas

It's October 1st and probably socially acceptable to decorate for Halloween now, right? To be honest, I pulled all of my decorations out a couple of weeks ago and I'm not sorry at all.

Despite having a whole bunch of things to decorate with and to dress up in already, I know how tempting it is to roam the aisles of Target and Homegoods, buy every cute little pumpkin candle, and maybe drop 50 bucks on a costume for your dog. 

But before you head out to the store, there are so many ways to save some money AND save more junk from entering our landfills. 

So, I've put together some ideas to try for low waste Halloween decorations, costumes, and candy. Some require getting crafty, some just a little imagination, creativity, and patience.


Making your home feel festive is one of the best parts of Halloween. However, many decorations require the use of disposable items that are difficult to keep for the next year. Like those dang spider webs that get caught on everything! Try staying away from these items and upcycle or gather natural ones instead.


While you can always reuse the decorations you have acquired over the years, upcycling some items around your home can keep even more out of the landfill and provide a bit of fun craft time for you and the kids. Or with your cats, you do you!

My awesome friend made this candy corn vase out of a beer bottle and acrylic paint. She even topped it with lavender sprigs from her garden! 

To make candy corn vase:
  • Save beer or wine bottles from the recycling bin and thoroughly clean and remove the labels
  • Paint the bottle all white and let dry
  • Then paint one-third yellow and one-third orange
  • You can tie a piece of twine around the top or leave it plain
  • Add any flowers or greenery you'd like!
As if this friend wasn't crafty and awesome enough, she also made a pumpkin out of wine corks she had been saving.

To make wine cork pumpkin:
  • Save up those wine corks girl (or ask your wine-loving friends)
  • Paint the ends in various shades of orange. Leaving the natural stain of red wines looks great as well.
  • Hot glue the corks together in the shape of a pumpkin and glue one on top for the stem
  • Tie a piece of twine around the "stem" if desired
Here are a few more upcycling crafts to attempt:

Natural Decor

One of the great things about Halloween being in the fall is all of the fall foliage. Not to mention that its pumpkin, squash, and gourd season! All of which make for wonderful decorations. In most cases, you can compost what you use as decor when you're all done. 

Pumpkin carving is likely on your agenda this month. You can really make use of the whole pumpkin by baking the seeds, making pumpkin puree with the guts, and composting the rest (given you haven't painted the outside). 

Chickens also enjoy pumpkin, so you can throw scraps out to them. Most of us probably don't have friends with chickens or chickens of our own, but you can always ask the egg guy/lady at your local farmers market if their chickens would like some. One of the farmers at our market asks to keep carrot-top greens for his chickens as he's selling you carrots, so it's not weird trust me.

Squash and gourds also make great, natural decor. I personally love the look of butternut and acorn squash, which can obviously be eaten and the scraps composted. But it's the bumpy and ugly gourds that make the best Halloween decorations. These can be composted as well, but it might be wise to chop them up first before throwing them into the bin. This way they break down quicker.

Living on the East Coast or somewhere with actual seasons has its advantages as you'll be able to collect some beautiful orange, yellow, and red leaves to decorate with. If you want to get crafty, you can paint or draw faces on them (think pumpkins, ghosts, monsters, etc). Just note that if you paint them, they can't be returned back to nature or composted. You can add them to wreaths, candle holders, etc. Super versatile. 

If you're in Southern California like me and can't find many leaves to work with, twigs can also be used to craft with and can likely be used for many years before breaking down. 

I love this creepy wreath made of twigs by Earnest Home Co. All she did was gather twigs, glue them together, and spray paint them. I think the black spray paint adds that extra creepiness factor, but if you don't have any paint, skipping that step works too.


Dressing up for Halloween never gets old. But it also seems to get more expensive and the store-bought costumes seem to be more cheaply made. Then they end up in a box in the closet and you never wear them again. It just doesn't seem worth it to me. 

The most zero or low waste thing you can do is not buy anything at all. Try wearing an old costume, making one out of clothes and accessories you already have or borrow from a friend. 

If none of those options work hit up a few thrift or vintage stores. Both are a treasure trove of clothing and accessories that can be made into costumes for anyone. Sometimes you go in knowing what you're looking for but then come out with an even better costume.

I've seen actual Halloween costumes at Buffalo Exchange and other thrift stores, some still in their original bag! Let me show you some of the thrifted costumes I've put together in the past.

Mary Poppins. I loved this costume! I was working at a daycare at the time and needed a costume for the little parade we were having. Mary Poppins seemed like an appropriate way to go. I went to Goodwill and found every piece here except for the bowtie and the flower in my hat. I found a thin piece of red ribbon and bobby-pinned it to the shirt collar and I think I ended up pinning the flower to the hat. 

Mustard. So, we had a little bet going at work last year where my boss ended up having to wear his hotdog costume. My co-manager and I agreed to join him in solidarity and arrive as ketchup and mustard. I happened upon this shirt at Buffalo Exchange and slapped on a Grey Poupon sign. Voila! Just takes some thinking outside the box folks.

Preppy 1950s couple. This costume also happened last year. The husband and I took a mini getaway trip to Portland, Maine and happened across a cute vintage/antique store. Oh goodness, I made him spend an hour or so in there with me because there were SO many ideas to run with. Since Halloween was coming up, I couldn't leave empty-handed. I found a fabulous wool skirt, a cashmere top, and a silk scarf to tie in my hair. For him, we just found an old sweater and everything else was his already. 

If you're in a pinch and need a costume quickly, Swap.com makes it super easy to find secondhand costumes for Men, Women, or children online.


Last but not least, candy is such an essential to a happy Halloween. At least I personally think so. Unfortunately, it's also one of the most wasteful. I never thought about it before, but all of those tiny wrappers sort of make me cringe now. Candy also happens to be a somewhat tricky zero or low waste item to get your hands on.

If you're committed to having a low waste Halloween this year, you may have to sacrifice a few traditions and make some new ones.

Passing out candy

It's hard to pass on this tradition, especially if your neighborhood is full of little kids. Nothing better than watching all of them come up to your door in their cute little costumes. The wrapping on candy keeps kids from consuming something unsafe, so what do you do rather than buy a bunch of tiny, individually wrapped candy bars?

One thing to try is passing out mandarins /clementines (AKA Cuties). I sort of got laughed at last year when I bought them, but some kids were actually excited to get them and most parents didn't mind! You can even draw pumpkin faces on them with a sharpie. The mandarin skin provides a natural barrier from germs and these little guys are super sweet tasting. 

You can also buy a bunch of those movie theater sweets that come in cardboard boxes like Junior-mints, Milk-duds, Reese's Pieces, etc. They are actually pretty inexpensive and I've seen them at Walmart and Target for just over a dollar. 

These are great because they mostly come without plastic bags (Skittles and Sour-Patch Kids do) and the box can be recycled if the parent is as cool and eco-conscious as you are. Still, it's better to have some cardboard in the landfill as opposed to plastic. If there is the slightest chance it will break down, it will do so way faster than plastic. 

I've seen a lot of folks hand out small plastic toys, but this is not doing the kid, parent, or environment any favors. Unless you want to spend the money on a bunch of art supplies or wooden toys that would actually last them a long time, opt for the previous two ideas. 

Candy at home

Low waste candy at home among family and/or friends is a lot easier to pull off. You don't have to worry as much about serving goodies that can easily be contaminated and you can also bake a bunch of sweets for everyone. 

Bulk candy. Wholefoods, Sprouts, Winco, Wegmans, or your nearest bulk grocery store are all likely to carry some sort of candy. Even if they do not allow you to use your own container, one plastic bag or container is better than individually wrapped pieces. Plastic bags can be used to collect trash or pet waste and sometimes recycled back at the grocery store. 

Candy stores are also an option, but possibly on the more expensive side. Either way, you aren't likely to get name-brand items, but you'll be doing our planet a solid. I buy chocolate and Australian licorice at my local Co-op quite often and UGH they are so yummy. 
Photo by Tim Mossholder from Pexels
While these ideas might be on the unconventional side, they'll definitely save you a bit of money as well as keep waste at a minimum. To me, helping the environment is worth every bit of unconventional. 



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