With Halloween just days away, many are putting the finishing touches to their decorations and costumes but this comes at an environmental cost.
According to environmental charity Hubbub, UK Halloween celebrations generate over two thousand tonnes of plastic waste – that’s the equivalent of 83m bottles – from costumes alone.
Over 30m people in the UK transform into witches, cats, devils, and the like, on October 31st with 90% of families choosing to buy their outfits rather than make them.
But, at the end of the spooky season, seven million items of clothing are thrown away, with very few being recycled.
Polyester is the most common plastic polymer found in Halloween costumes. Credit: Associated Press.
To combat Halloween waste, owner of vintage clothing company, Past Treasures Vintage in Brick Lane, Shannon Haslam is collecting unwanted costumes to recycle and reuse, saying:
“There’s no need to throw away your old [costume] if there’s nothing wrong with it.
“If it can’t be reused to make new clothing, it could be used for someone who can’t afford a Halloween costume this year, or for someone who is missing a certain bit of their Halloween costume.
“We’re hoping to collect as many as we can and hand them out on the 29th, 30th, and 31st of October.”
She is also advocating for making costumes, adding:
“It’s more fun than going out and buying something off the rack and next year doing the same thing.”
Pumpkins contribute to Halloween waste
On top of the 30m people dressing up, an additional five million people in the UK are expected to buy at least one pumpkin. Just under half will go uneaten, Hubbub has also said.
It is anticipated that 14.5m pumpkins will go uneaten in the UK this Halloween. Credit: Associated Press.
Tess Christian, a volunteer at the charity Shoreditch City Farm that grows and sells pumpkins, encouraged eating the vegetables or composting them, saying:
“They just collapse. You can put them straight back into the earth.”
With COP26 kicking off on Halloween the pressure on consumers to think about the amount of waste they produce is apparent, with some hopeful it will encourage people to go Hallowgreen this year.
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HeadlineThis weekend’s Halloween celebrations set to generate tonnes of waste
Short HeadlineHalloween set to generate tonnes of waste
StandfirstAccording to a UK charity, costumes create two thousand tonnes of plastic waste and, this year, 14.5m pumpkins will go uneaten.
With Halloween just days away, many are putting the finishing touches to their decorations and costumes but this comes at an environmental cost.
According to environmental charity Hubbub, UK Halloween celebrations generate over two thousand tonnes of plastic waste – that’s the equivalent of 83m bottles – from costumes alone.
Over 30m people in the UK transform into witches, cats, devils, and the like, on October 31st with 90% of families choosing to buy their outfits rather than make them.
But, at the end of the spooky season, seven million items of clothing are thrown away, with very few being recycled.
Polyester is the most common plastic polymer found in Halloween costumes. Credit: Associated Press.
To combat Halloween waste, owner of vintage clothing company, Past Treasures Vintage in Brick Lane, Shannon Haslam is collecting unwanted costumes to recycle and reuse, saying:
“There’s no need to throw away your old [costume] if there’s nothing wrong with it.
“If it can’t be reused to make new clothing, it could be used for someone who can’t afford a Halloween costume this year, or for someone who is missing a certain bit of their Halloween costume.
“We’re hoping to collect as many as we can and hand them out on the 29th, 30th, and 31st of October.”
She is also advocating for making costumes, adding:
“It’s more fun than going out and buying something off the rack and next year doing the same thing.”
Pumpkins contribute to Halloween waste
On top of the 30m people dressing up, an additional five million people in the UK are expected to buy at least one pumpkin. Just under half will go uneaten, Hubbub has also said.
It is anticipated that 14.5m pumpkins will go uneaten in the UK this Halloween. Credit: Associated Press.
Tess Christian, a volunteer at the charity Shoreditch City Farm that grows and sells pumpkins, encouraged eating the vegetables or composting them, saying:
“They just collapse. You can put them straight back into the earth.”
With COP26 kicking off on Halloween the pressure on consumers to think about the amount of waste they produce is apparent, with some hopeful it will encourage people to go Hallowgreen this year.
A 2024 Freedom of Information request showed Bromley Council had £4.5 million invested in arms companies that year with £1.5 million reportedly linked to Israel.
Undercover officers raided three linked shops in Barking town centre, revealing how illicit tobacco is being hidden in walls, ceilings and nearby locations to evade detection.
More than 330,000 people across the UK sought support from the Stop It Now helpline in 2025 over concerns about their own or someone else’s online sexual behaviour towards children, according to new charity data. The anonymous service says contacts by phone, email and webchat rose significantly over the year.
