{"id":54889,"date":"2022-10-26T14:20:28","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T18:20:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/?p=54889"},"modified":"2022-10-26T14:20:31","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T18:20:31","slug":"unmasking-halloween-waste-is-a-zero-waste-fright-night-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/story\/54889\/unmasking-halloween-waste-is-a-zero-waste-fright-night-possible\/","title":{"rendered":"Unmasking Halloween waste: is a zero waste fright night possible?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>The companies preventing you from having a zero waste Halloween are the same ones trashing the oceans. Here\u2019s how the federal government can change that.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2022\/10\/1065c82f-halloweenscary-1024x536.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54892\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2022\/10\/1065c82f-halloweenscary-1024x536.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2022\/10\/1065c82f-halloweenscary-300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2022\/10\/1065c82f-halloweenscary-768x402.png 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2022\/10\/1065c82f-halloweenscary-510x267.png 510w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2022\/10\/1065c82f-halloweenscary.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<p>In recent years there have been <strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/act.gp\/3yRiPwG\" target=\"_blank\">lots of tips and tricks on how to reduce your plastic use and waste on Halloween<\/a><\/strong>. And while parents and \u2018all hallows\u2019 eve\u2019 enthusiasts scramble to get organized for the scariest day of the year, it\u2019s pretty terrifying to think of the lack of truly plastic-free, zero waste treats, costumes and decorations that are available across the country. Why is that? Who\u2019s created this plastic-dependent holiday?<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>When it comes to the sugary loot, it\u2019s the same companies that are fuelling the wider plastic waste and pollution crisis.<\/strong> After all, Halloween treats are just the miniature versions of the chip bags, chocolate bar and candy wrappers, pop bottles and other snacks that end up in landfills, burned or polluting beaches and greenspaces around the world. Brightly designed bags and boxes of PepsiCo (Pepsi, Lays chips, etc), Mondelez (Cadbury, Sour Patch Kids, Maynards,Trident, etc), The Coca-Cola Company, Nestle, Hershey, among various other companies\u2019 treat products appear on supermarket shelves every October, and, because the contents all come in single-use packaging, are basically garbage once they are produced.<\/p>\n\n<p>In other words, <strong>the parent companies behind your favourite Halloween candies are the very same ones that haunt the world\u2019s beaches in waste audits year after year, making a graveyard of our oceans.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">For the 3rd year <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CocaCola?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@CocaCola<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PepsiCo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@PepsiCo<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Nestle?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Nestle<\/a> snatched the top global plastic polluter award in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/brkfreeplastic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@brkfreeplastic<\/a>&#39;s brand audit. They NEED to stop relying on single-use plastic &amp; invest in reusable packaging NOW.<br><br>Read <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BrandAudit2020?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BrandAudit2020<\/a> &gt;&gt; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HJ18kT1xy9\">https:\/\/t.co\/HJ18kT1xy9<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BreakFreeFromPlastic?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BreakFreeFromPlastic<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mRK80ADMQc\">pic.twitter.com\/mRK80ADMQc<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Greenpeace Canada (@GreenpeaceCA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GreenpeaceCA\/status\/1334169226014318592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 2, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n<p><strong>So what are these companies doing about their waste-generating treats and growing pollution nightmare? Nothing of note. <\/strong>We\u2019ve seen <strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.coca-colacompany.com\/news\/coca-cola-announces-industry-leading-target-for-reusable-packaging\" target=\"_blank\">flashy commitments<\/a><\/strong> from companies like Coca-Cola that claim it will offer reusable packaging alternatives for a portion of its business, but the progress is slow and only in specific locations. We\u2019ve seen other companies pilot reuse models or reusable packaging, but the candy aisles of our grocery stores have remained virtually unchanged.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button aligncenter\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-green-500-background-color has-text-color has-background\" href=\"https:\/\/act.gp\/3CIQ6LJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tell Minister Guilbeault: Commit to Canada-wide reusables now!<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>And we know that <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/lifeandstyle\/2019\/oct\/18\/scariest-thing-about-halloween-is-plastic-waste-say-charities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the treats are just one piece of the Halloween plastic waste and pollution puzzle<\/a><\/strong>. It\u2019s such a plastic-filled occasion that it\u2019s overwhelming to think about. We want to be able to have fun holidays but not at the expense of the health of communities, wildlife, habitats, the climate, and future trick or treaters!<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Halloween needs a new look and feel<\/strong>. More scary tricks, fewer plastic-wrapped treats. More DIY creations, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/business\/marketplace-cheat-sheet-1.6571492\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fewer toxic dollar store decorations<\/a><\/strong>. And we need it to not be a tonne of extra effort and money to dodge toxic, polluting plastic. That\u2019s why governments must hold polluting companies accountable and force them to turn our wasteful consumption machine around. We need government action to accelerate the shift to a system that allows all of us to enjoy the fun times, be toxin-free in our day to day, and operate in a way that respects nature without the constant dread of need<\/p>\n\n<p>In 2030, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/liberal.ca\/our-platform\/zero-plastic-waste-by-2030\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the federal government claims it will have reached zero plastic waste<\/a><\/strong>. What will Halloween look like then? At this rate, not much different.<\/p>\n\n<p>It\u2019s time that Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault commit to:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>creating a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/act.gp\/3D4eyse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nation-wide reuse and refill strategy<\/a><\/strong> so more of the things we eat and use in our daily lives come package-free, plastic-free and zero waste, and<\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Hey%20%40JustinTrudeau%20%40s_guilbeault,%20the%20current%20%23SingleUsePlastic%20ban%20isn%E2%80%99t%20enough.%20Let%E2%80%99s%20%23ExpandTheBan!%20The%20list%20is%20long,%20but%20here%E2%80%99s%20a%20start%3A%0A%E2%9D%8CTakeout%20cups%20%26%20lids%0A%E2%9D%8CMulti-layered%20packaging%20(wrappers\/pouches)%0A%E2%9D%8CProduce%20bags%0A%E2%9D%8CCigarette%20filters%0A%E2%9D%8CBottles%20%26%20caps%0A%23ZeroPlasticWaste%0A\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">expanding the single-use plastic ban list<\/a><\/strong> to include highly polluting and waste generating items like multilayered packaging like wrappers, chip bags and sachets, bottles and caps, and a long list of problematic and unnecessary single-use plastics.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n<p>Urge Minister Guilbeault to accelerate our shift to a reuse and refill future, now!<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button aligncenter\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-green-500-background-color has-text-color has-background\" href=\"https:\/\/act.gp\/3CIQ6LJ\">ADD YOUR VOICE: Reuse &amp; Refill Systems now!<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The companies preventing you from having a zero waste Halloween are the same ones trashing the oceans. Here\u2019s how the federal government can change that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":54892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"Unmasking Halloween waste: the mega ghouls responsible","p4_og_description":"The companies preventing you from having a zero waste Halloween are the same ones trashing the oceans. 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