I’ve been out of the trick-or-treating loop for awhile. In my pre-parenting days, I didn’t really think much about it, and then once our kids were born, we lived somewhere that wasn’t really set up for trick-or-treating, and we didn’t want our kids having candy anyway. But, now with the kids a bit older and living in a bigger city, there’s little way to escape the event.
And, being the type that I am, I can’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed at the sheer volume of waste created for this annual tradition. I watch handfuls of candy go into each child’s bag sometimes. I know this might not apply to everyone, but many of the parents I know do not let their kids eat all of this. So, it either goes directly in the trash or Switch Witch takes it or it sits in a drawer for months until it finally ends up in the trash. On the whole, it seems more and more parents have become label readers. Ingredients like corn syrup, Red 40, Blue 1, palm oil, and more are found in almost every candy and are often things parents like to avoid.
So, we’ve got either food waste or, for those who do want to consume the candy, there’s sometimes litter, teeth issues, and, of course, health issues. Also, because of the bite-sized amounts given, there is waaay more packaging used than would normally be used for candy.
All around, the whole thing really bums me out. Besides, I’m personally not a fan of the GIMME, entitled, MORE, MORE attitude that is associated with trick-or-treating. But, what to do? As a parent, I know, I feel stuck. I want my kids to be able to participate in holiday activities, and, unfortunately, this sometimes means dealing with all the wasteful candy.
REDUCE
The best way to reduce the candy waste is to either <gasp!> not trick-or-treat, or find less wasteful alternatives to hand out. The tricky part with that, of course, is A)How do you dictate what is given out? and B) What is a good alternative, since cheap, plastic trinkets are no better than the candy waste?
Sometimes in trick-or-treating situations, it isn’t even other parents handing out the candy. I find that most parents of young children understand how we don’t want to be bombarded with a sugar-y mess. I find the most “generous” candy givers are older. They are sentimental about the tradition and have either over-purchased candy that they don’t want to keep around and/or are truly trying to give the kids candy do something kind. So, the reducing part of this can get tricky… One of the best ways is with awareness. Maybe through articles or other means, we can start to spread the word and try to figure out alternatives to the candy overload.
If your church or organization is involved in a Trunk-or-Treat, maybe you can gently suggest candy alternatives. If you or someone you know is heading up organizing a trick-or-treat at shops, maybe you can talk to the shop owners about this. At your own home, you, of course, have control over what you pass out, but I’m wondering if house-to-house trick-or-treating is even done as much with all the other options out there.
So, what are less wasteful alternatives? As I mentioned, cheap, plastic toys are definitely not the answer. Those cheap bubble containers or mini whistles or spy glasses or anything purchased in bulk are usually things kids take one look at and then never think about again. Or they break after about 20 minutes. And they end up in the trash. Ugh. And things like glow sticks are so horrible for the environment.
So, what wouldn’t end up being wasteful? You can Google “Halloween candy alternatives” and see what comes up, but a lot of times the plastic trinkets will be what you see. Some alternatives that sounded promising to me were local honey sticks, homemade play dough in reusable containers, hot chocolate packets, stickers, mini figs, coloring pages (you can print these out yourself), a small bag of craft supplies and instructions, homemade clay Halloween pins, or homemade small Halloween finger puppets. Obviously, none of these are zero-impact, but I think it’s a start in rethinking old traditions.
If you’re holding a Halloween event with a small group, you can each bring a homemade treat and set up mini booths shaped like houses to pass the treats out to the kids.
Instead of passing out candy at a Trunk-or-Treat, maybe people could collect photos of their kids at each station or the kids could do a small craft at each station. Or there could even be supplies out at each car so the kids could participate in the actual decorating.
At a harvest festival, you could charge a small admission and maybe the kids could play games for tickets and then trick-or-treat at small “shops” and decide what they’d like to buy with their tickets. That way you can buy higher quality items and the kids would be choosing things they want (and “earning” them).
This whole thing is, pardon the pun, tricky. At the very least, just start to become more aware. If someone tries to plunk a whole fistful of candy into your child’s bag and you know it won’t get eaten, politely refuse and ask for just one, please. Don’t overbuy candy for your own home if you know it doesn’t get passed out or eaten. If you really feel you “need” candy for passing out, but you never go through a whole bag, share with a neighbor.
Look for candy with the least amount of packaging and the least amount of offensive ingredients. Maybe opt for crackers or pretzels or organic candies instead of the brands or foods that are overflowing in corn syrup.
REUSE
See if anywhere around town would be able to use any candy you won’t be consuming.
Candy wrappers can be made into many creative projects such as headbands, bracelets, barrettes, coin purses, decoupaging and more. Search “candy wrapper reuse projects” and see what you find.
RECYCLE?
Candy wrappers are not usually recyclable, unfortunately. You can look into programs like this one from Terracycle or this one from Rubicon though.
ENDING THOUGHTS
As I mentioned in the pumpkin waste post, changing traditions, especially very established holiday traditions, is tough. But, part of being human and being on this planet is changing our ways as we gain new information. So, I really don’t mean to be the Bah Humbug of Halloween here, but I think it’s time to start speaking out and thinking differently about our approach to trick-or-treating. I’m sooo far from having the magic answer on this one, but I think it’s something to start talking about.
Thank you, as always, for being here. Your actions can and will make a difference.