The darker side of Halloween: Why wastage is an environmental nightmare

As the days shorten and the leaves turn a deep shade of ochre; the end of the year is slowly creeping up on us. Like many others, your first thought may turn to the annual event of Halloween which is massive among students. Who wouldn't want to dress up as a mythical creature and dance all night at the Students Union?

But, instead of Michael Myers and Freddy Kruger being the villain, there is an invisible and ever-present evil terrorising the world. The real horror at Halloween is the global waste going to our landfills.

For a lot of people, Halloween is their only excuse to dress up; some may be eagerly coordinating costumes with friends and others may be trying to find the most unique outfit possible. Inevitably, this leads to the purchase of fast fashion from high street stores or online shops such as Primark or Shein.

Environmental group Hubbub found around 7 million costumes are thrown out each year in the UK at Halloween. Around 83% of these costumes will contain non-recyclable oil-based plastics which will end up at landfills (around 2000 tonnes of plastic waste per Halloween).

It can be easy to point fingers and state the obvious about sustainability and climate change, but, as students, we want the cheapest and easiest option. Luckily for us, the 'cheapest and easiest' can be sustainable. Borrowing clothes from friends or finding steals on Vinted is more efficient than ever. You can easily find a second-hand costume online for £3.

Along with dressing up and watching scary films with your flat, there's another tradition that is popular among students: pumpkin carving. You can't beat an evening of slicing and sculpting a vegetable in the name of the Halloween spirit! Sadly, this is another horror to our landfills.

According to Hubbub, around 18,000 tonnes of pumpkins are thrown away each year. When these pumpkins reach the landfill they decompose and release a harmful greenhouse gas called methane. Methane is over 20 times more harmful to the Earth's atmosphere than carbon dioxide and is a key contributor to climate change.

There are a few ways you can prevent this climate catastrophe without sacrificing this unique Halloween tradition. To reduce your carbon footprint you could compost the pumpkin and use the filling to make pies or soups. There are hundreds of simple recipes online on websites such as BBC GoodFoods that are accessible to students.

The current state of the UK means that it is very difficult to be waste free. But, small steps such as these can help put a stop to horrifying wastage this Halloween.

Edited by Nadia Lincoln