Halloween Waste: Frightening Facts, Scary Stats & Helpful Tips to Keep it Low

Halloween is all about costumes, candy, and spooky fun, but it also comes with a less thrilling side: waste. From discarded pumpkins and costume packaging to overflowing trick-or-treat sweet and chocolate wrappers, Halloween generates a surprising amount of rubbish every year. In this article, we’ll uncover some frightening facts and scary statistics about Halloween waste, and share practical tips to help you celebrate the season in a more eco-friendly way. Let’s take a closer look at some scary Halloween waste facts and how to avoid them in your home:

Halloween waste: frightening facts & scary stats

As the days grow darker and a chill creeps in, so does the unnerving threat of more Halloween waste that is incorrectly handled and thrown into landfill without a second thought. From mountains of wasted pumpkins to piles of outgrown Halloween costumes, here are some frightening facts and scary stats about Halloween waste that you will find more spooky than any Frankenstein or Dracula:

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Halloween costumes

• On average, 7 million Halloween costumes are thrown away every year in the UK
• Most Halloween costumes are made from unsustainable, cheap and synthetic materials that contribute to 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste
• Halloween costume waste is the equivalent to 83 million plastic bottles ending up in landfill sites 
• Four in ten people wear their costumes once at Halloween before throwing them away
• 83% of Halloween costumes contain non-recyclable oil-based plastics

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Pumpkins

• 18,000 tonnes of pumpkins are wasted each year, with the majority coming from carved Jack-o’-lanterns
• 22 million pumpkins are thrown away in the UK annually
• Yearly pumpkin waste in Britain is the equivalent of £32 million worth of food waste

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Decorations

• £300 million is spent at Halloween to make the holiday perfect
• The equivalent of 520 elephants of plastic waste is thrown away at Halloween
• Only 20% of consumers consider sustainability when buying Halloween decorations for their home or pirates

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Treats & food

• 0.5kg of Halloween waste is produced per Trick-or-Treater 
• Around £2.6billion is spent on Halloween treats in the USA alone
• Roughly 600 million pounds of Halloween sweets are bought annually in the US
• Most Halloween treat waste comes from the wrappers alone

Spookily good tips for reducing Halloween waste in 2025

There are loads of things you can do to avoid your household from adding to those spooky statistics we’ve just touched upon. From donating unwanted Halloween decorations and costumes to charity to eating your pumpkin rather than throwing it away, here are some frighteningly good tips for reducing your Halloween waste in 2025:

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Reuse, recycle, donate or buy second-hand

Regardless of the Halloween waste you’ve produced, whether it be food, costumes or decorations, you should refrain from throwing them in the bin to be sent to landfill. At best, food should be composted. However, you should make sure you’re recycling, reusing, donating or buying things that are second-hand to keep your carbon footprint as low as possible throughout Halloween. 

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Eat your pumpkin

With so much pumpkin waste adding up year after year, it’s never been more important to limit pumpkin waste at home. The most effective way of making sure that your pumpkin doesn’t have a negative impact on the planet is to eat it. It’s a lot easier said than done. Start by roasting the pumpkin seeds and having them as a healthy snack. 

You could even be more adventurous and bake a pumpkin pie or make a casserole with leftover pumpkin chunks. Decorate them instead of carving them to preserve their integrity and nutritional value. Just make sure you’re not painting them, because that makes them inedible and non-compostable.

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Rethink Halloween decs

Before buying brand new Halloween decorations, you should take a look and see what you already have. If they’re broken or damaged, then recycle them. If they’re in good condition and you’ve become bored with them, then give them away to friends or family, or donate them to a charity shop. 

You could even make your own Halloween decorations rather than buying them brand new. Use things like fabric scraps, cardboard, twigs and leaves to be more sustainable. If you have to buy Halloween decorations that are brand new, then invest and buy quality items that will last for years.

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Choose low-waste treats or make your own

Halloween treats, as we’ve already touched upon, create copious amounts of waste that is harmful to the planet. This is where choosing your treats wisely will help to reduce your carbon footprint. Going to zero-waste stores or even making your own Halloween treats is a great way of reducing the packaging you’re using. You should, however, refrain from giving out homemade treats to Trick-or-Treaters. 

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Willshee’s is proud to provide dependable skip hire services for both residential and commercial customers throughout the Midlands. We also offer a comprehensive range of waste management solutions, including commercial waste collection and hazardous waste disposal. To find out how we can assist with your waste management requirements, get in touch with our friendly, professional team – we’re always here to help.