Putting green spin on Halloween with costume exchange
By Edward Ortiz, Sacramento Bee
Few may give it much thought, but Halloween may be the least eco-friendly of holidays.
Last year, Americans spent $2 billion on Halloween costumes. Typically, such costumes are discarded the following day. The materials, many of which are made of polyester and plastic, eventually find their way to landfills.
But a movement is under way to stem that tide. It’s called National Costume Swap Day, which took place Saturday. Locally, the eco-event was celebrated at the Roseville-based nonprofit reCreate.
Swapping only half of children’s costumes normally discarded would reduce annual landfill waste by 6,250 tons, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Transportation. That amount is the equivalent to the weight of 2,500 midsize cars.