.png)
What’s Your Halloween Made Of? A Sustainable Halloween Guide
Halloween, from nature
Carved pumpkins, a witch's broom, a bag bursting with treats. Behind the spooky fun, almost everything we use on October 31 starts as a gift from nature, from farms, forests and even bees. So for a more sustainable Halloween, we’re asking: what’s your Halloween made of and what will you do with your costumes, pumpkin and loot bags?
Five Halloween favourites and where they come from
Jack-o'-lanterns: Pumpkins are grown on farms across BC. After the big night, don't toss yours in the trash. The leftovers make great compost that feeds next year's gardens. Uncarved and still firm pumpkins also make a great soup.
Broomsticks: Wooden handles come from trees. In BC, forests are replanted after harvest, so a new forest grows where the old one was cut, which is part of healthy forest management and forest fire prevention.
Paper treat bags: These are made from wood fibre, often sawmill leftovers like chips and sawdust. Very little of the tree goes to waste.
Candles: Wax can come from petroleum, soybeans or busy honeybees. Every option starts with a natural resource.
Costumes: Cotton grows on plants, but store-bought costumes are largely made of synthetic fibres like nylon and polyester, which come from oil. 🛢️ Even fake cobwebs are a type of polyester (Elves, 2022). There's a forest option too: rayon is made from cellulose, the natural fibre inside trees (McCloskey, 2026).
🌲 Why it matters: 3 trees are planted for every one cut
Replanting is a big part of how BC cares for its forests. Forest companies have been legally required to reforest the areas they harvest since 1987 (Government of British Columbia, 2024). Fun fact: Did you know the site of BC's first replanted forest in 1930 is in Surrey's Green Timbers park? That's where FORED BC once had its main forest education office.
In April 2024, the province marked a milestone: its 10-billionth tree planted since reforestation began in 1930 (Government of British Columbia, 2024). More than 280 million trees were planted in BC in 2024 alone (The Canadian Press, 2024). Across Canada, only about 0.2% of forests were harvested in 2022 (Natural Resources Canada, 2025).
Making the most of each tree matters too. In 2023–24, six forestry companies sold 3.9 million tonnes of residuals, such as wood chips and sawdust, to value-added partners in BC (Council of Forest Industries [COFI], 2025). Those wood chips go to pulp mills, where they're cooked and broken down into soft fibres called pulp. The pulp is pressed and dried into paper, then made into products like treat bags. That's how a sawmill's leftovers can end up holding your Halloween candy.
♻️ After Halloween: Tips for a Sustainable Halloween
Before you pack Halloween away, give each piece a second life:
🎃 Jack-o'-lanterns: Remove any candles, cut them into palm-sized pieces and add them to your green bin or backyard compost. Bring pumpkins inside soon after Halloween, since they can attract bears. Uncarved, still firm pumpkins can be roasted or made into soups. Don't forget the seeds!
🧹 Broomsticks: Keep wooden brooms for next year, or put them to work sweeping.
🛍️ Paper treat bags: Reuse them, then recycle them with your paper.
🍬 Candy wrappers: These don't go in most BC blue boxes. Take them to a Recycle BC depot or a London Drugs collection bin.
🕯️ Candles: Remelt leftover beeswax or soy wax into new candles.
👻 Costumes: Host a costume swap, or donate costumes in good shape to thrift stores, schools or theatre groups. Lots of moms pass around their children's outgrown costumes to friends and family members for their kids.
"Organizations like Mamas for Mamas partner with local libraries or community centers to collect costumes for children in need, often accepting monetary donations to purchase missing sizes or brand-new items."
See if you can find one in your community.
-Alberni Valley News.
🔍 Your turn
"Which gift from nature is part of your costume?"
Cotton, wool, plastic or something else entirely? Tell us in the comments or tag @foredbc. Happy Halloween from all of us at FORED BC! 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗼𝘂𝘁 from the small FORED BC staff and management 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲 to FORED BC's blogs, website and videos. 👏 🙏Thanks to: Sabrina Ishimwee (Douglas College)
References
The Canadian Press. (2024, Dec.23). More than 280 million trees planted in 2024 in B.C., focus on fire-damaged areas. Castanet News.
Council of Forest Industries. (2025). 2025 COFI value added fact sheet.
Elves, B. (2022, Oct. 28). Oil and gas in our lives – Halloween. Alberta Energy Centre.
Government of British Columbia. (2024, April 15). B.C. plants its 10-billionth tree
International Pulp Week: Specialty cellulose: Market dynamics and outlook. Tree Frog Forestry News.
Natural Resources Canada. (2025, Aug. 18). Are Canada's forests harvested sustainably? Government of Canada.
Recycle BC. (2024, Oct. 31). Coach's guide to Halloween recyclable waste.
✅ 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲, 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲, 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹. 👍 SUBSCRIBE: / @ResourcefulPeople FOLLOW US: Instagram: / / foredbc Facebook: / / foredbc Twitter: / / foredbc
Comments