Wednesday, 29 October 2025
Ireland’s Halloween Waste Problem A few pumpkins on the windowsill and a couple of witches in the garden might make for festive fun. However, Ireland’s Halloween leftovers are turning into a nightmare for the planet. Hans Zomer, CEO of Global Action Plan, says it’s time to rethink how we celebrate. “Ireland’s Halloween hangover is scarier […]
A few pumpkins on the windowsill and a couple of witches in the garden might make for festive fun. However, Ireland’s Halloween leftovers are turning into a nightmare for the planet.
Hans Zomer, CEO of Global Action Plan, says it’s time to rethink how we celebrate. “Ireland’s Halloween hangover is scarier than the ghosts,” he warns. “We’re throwing away enough plastic and pumpkins each year to fill Croke Park.”
According to MyWaste.ie, around 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste are generated every Halloween, while waste company Greyhound estimates that one million costumes are bought annually in Ireland.
If Ireland’s pumpkin use mirrors Britain’s, that’s roughly 1,400 tonnes of pumpkin waste each year, the equivalent of 50 hectares of farmland and about 400 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. Zomer says the “scariest thing about Halloween isn’t the monsters, but the polyester,” noting that an estimated 540,000 costumes are thrown out after being worn just once.
Carla Timoney McGoey, Environmental Awareness Officer with Longford County Council, urges people to see Halloween as a chance to celebrate creativity and community, not overconsumption.
“Halloween doesn’t have to come with a pile of waste,” she says. “By reusing costumes, choosing natural decorations, and composting pumpkins and food waste, families can enjoy a fun, festive Halloween that’s lighter on the planet and easier on the pocket. It’s about imagination, not over-consumption.”
Timoney McGoey and Jennifer Muscheidt, Fingal County Council’s Environmental Awareness Officer, suggest charity shops, DIY creations, and costume swaps as sustainable alternatives.
Use old clothes, fabric scraps, or cardboard to make unique costumes.
Repurpose items, like an old sheet for a ghost or a cut-up t-shirt for a mummy.
After Halloween, swap costumes with friends or schools to give them a new life.
British data shows 40% of costumes are worn only once. By reusing and sharing, families can save money and reduce textile waste.
Unlike Christmas decorations, which we often reuse, most Halloween decorations are cheap, plastic, and disposable. Muscheidt notes that many are “put outside and get destroyed.”
She and Timoney McGoey recommend using household materials such as egg cartons, cereal boxes, and toilet rolls to craft decorations with children.
Turn a toilet roll into a bat or cardboard into gravestones.
Use jam jars as lanterns, painted with Halloween faces.
Replace synthetic cobwebs with natural décor, twigs, leaves, and flowers, and compost them after use.
Invest in reusable decorations and opt for solar-powered or rechargeable lighting. Zomer suggests redefining Halloween as “an occasion to create and connect, rather than consume.”
Every year, hundreds of tonnes of pumpkins are wasted in Ireland. Jennifer Muscheidt encourages people to think of pumpkins as food, not just decoration.
“They’re full of vitamins and fibre, great for soups, pies, or roasted seeds,” adds Timoney McGoey.
Check out StopFoodWaste.ie and the BBC Food website for creative pumpkin recipes. Any leftovers should go into food waste bins or home compost, not landfill, where decomposing pumpkins release methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Ireland ranks as the fourth-largest sugar consumer globally, averaging 96.7 grams of sugar daily, according to World Population Review. A Keelings study found 62% of Irish parents worry about Halloween sugar levels, and 60% would like healthier alternatives.
Keelings teamed up with dietitian Orla Walsh to create Halloween-themed fruit snacks, like Monster Apple Mouths, apples with nut butter and strawberry “tongues.”
Timoney McGoey advises choosing Irish-made treats, buying sweets in bulk, and avoiding plastic wrappers. “Use reusable cloth bags or decorated baskets for trick-or-treating instead of plastic buckets,” she says.
She also recommends reframing the tradition: “Make trick-or-treating about walking the community, not racing for treats.”
Ireland’s Sustainable Halloween campaign discourages bonfires, which often involve illegal waste such as tyres, plastics, and furniture. These fires release toxic pollutants, including dioxins, which account for over 50% of Ireland’s dioxin emissions.
They also pose serious safety risks and cost councils heavily, Fingal County Council spends about €150,000 annually cleaning up after illegal bonfires. The council now offers a Halloween amnesty for recycling unwanted items like wood and mattresses at local centres.
Communities across Ireland are hosting eco-friendly celebrations:
Longford’s Dead of Night Festival (until Nov 1) features storytelling, music, haunted houses, and the Fire and Shadows procession.
Cork Community Art Link runs Dragon of Shandon and other recycled-material art events.
Take a walk by Cork’s Lough to watch bats or join a post-Halloween litter pick in your area.
Timoney McGoey says Halloween can be a time to reconnect with nature: “Tell stories outdoors, go on autumn scavenger hunts, or host community clean-ups.”
As Hans Zomer reminds us, the original Celtic festival of Samhain celebrated nature’s transformation. “Let’s honour that by transforming Halloween into something greener, a festival of creativity, community, and care for our planet.”
Ireland’s growing awareness of sustainability is already changing how many communities approach Halloween. Councils across the country are promoting waste-free initiatives, from Fingal’s Halloween amnesty for illegal bonfire materials to Longford’s creative reuse workshops and family-friendly, eco-conscious events.
Environmental organisations like Global Action Plan are working to shift the mindset from consumerism to creativity, encouraging people to see Halloween not as a time for excess, but for shared experiences and community spirit.
Progress depends on small, collective actions: families reusing costumes, children learning about composting, neighbourhoods swapping decorations, and local councils providing sustainable alternatives. Together, these choices add up to a meaningful cultural change, one that honours Halloween’s Celtic roots as a celebration of transformation and renewal.
Halloween began as Samhain, a festival marking the cycle of nature, and in that spirit, the modern celebration can also evolve. As Hans Zomer of Global Action Plan says, “The spirit of Halloween is about transformation. Transform it into something greener: a festival celebrating creativity, nature, and community.”
By rethinking how we dress up, decorate, and celebrate, Ireland can turn its “Halloween hangover” into a model for sustainable living. The ghosts and ghouls will always return, but with imagination and intention, the real horror of waste doesn’t have to.