Going green: Putting the green into the Halloween season

If you care about the planet and the environment you’ve every right to be concerned about the impact of Halloween.

A study conducted by the environmental group Hubbub found 83 per cent of Halloween costumes used polyester, an oil based plastic, and that’s the equivalent of 83 million plastic bottles.

What’s more, the plastic polymer used in some of these costumes takes between 20 and 200 years to decompose and with seven million costumes are thrown away annually in the UK, that’s a lot of landfill.

But it’s not just costumes that end up being wasteful. Yes, pumpkins biodegrade and compost but 60 per cent of pumpkin buyers in the UK don’t use the pumpkin for anything other than carving.

Considering how much water and land pumpkin’s take to grow, and how delicious they are, it’s a real waste not to use the hollowed out flesh in a soup or to roast the seeds with some sugar and vanilla to have with cereal or yogurt.

A staggering 18,000 tonnes of pumpkins are thrown away annually in the UK and while they do decompose, they release greenhouse gas methane as they do.

I’m not saying for a second we should drastically change the way kids celebrate Halloween, I love the holiday as much as the next parent who forgot to buy sweets for the descending hordes, but a little thought will go a long way to reducing waste.

You don’t have to carve pumpkins – from oranges to pineapples to butternut squashes there are lots of other fruits and vegetables that carve – just make sure you use the innards for something.

If you’ve got old costumes, swap them with friends or post them on your local social media pages to see if anyone wants them or take them to a charity shop or give them to friends with younger kids.

If you’re buying a costume, don’t buy new and look for second hand ones instead or make one from scratch, if you’re a creative type.

There are plenty of ideas online for home made Halloween outfits.

When it comes to waste, sweet wrappers make up a large proportion of it too so if you have trick or treaters coming to you, why not get sweets without wrappers or get ones like certain lollipops that have paper recyclable wrappers and non plastic lollipop sticks.

Or make rice Krispie cakes with mini marshmallow eyes with the kids – they can make great and tasty spooky trick or treats.

£300 million is spent in the UK on Halloween – and that’s at a time when the UK is in the midst of a cost of living crisis. There are plenty of changes you can make this Halloween so it doesn’t have to be scary for the environment or your wallet.

Source: https://www.wastemanaged.co.uk/our-news/halloween/halloween-waste/ site.

Celebrity spot

Emma Thompson, Gary Lineker, Mo Farrah, Julie Walters, Kevin Bacon, Alison Steadman and Michael Rosen have all backed an open letter calling for a transition away from fossil fuels ahead of a United Nations summit.

Organised by Our Kids’ Climate on behalf of parents, the letter says: “The burning of fossil fuels drives the climate crisis, harming children now and stealing their futures. It is crucial that the summit makes an unambiguous commitment to a just and fair transition away from fossil fuels.

“We want our children to inherit a world in which they can breathe clean air, enjoy nature, and meet their potential without threat from ever-worsening climate disasters.”

It concludes saying: “We, the parents, simply wish for a decent future for our children, and all children. You have the power to protect what we love. For the children of today and tomorrow, we are counting on you.”

Green swap

Switch leaving things on for turning them off. If you have things like your microwave and air fryer plugged in all the time, unplug them when you’re not using them. The average microwave in a day uses more energy to power its digital clock than it does to heat food.

Finding best energy saving tariffs for customers

Should I stay on my variable energy rate and not tie into a fixed rate?

This is a question I get asked a lot and in the same way there are fixed and variable rate options when it comes to mortgages there are similar options when it comes to energy tariffs.

When it comes to answering this question, it depends entirely on circumstance, but for most people they would be better off not on the price cap and moving to a lower rate but as always do your homework to see what will work best for you. If you need budget certainty then a ‘good’ fixed tariff may be best for you. If you’re not on a fixed tariff, your prices are dictated by the Energy Price Cap set by OFGEM every three months. The cap can go up or down, depending primarily on international gas prices.

For a household with typical usage, paying by Direct Debit, the price cap rose by ten per cent on October 1. So, a typical household will pay £1,717 a year for gas and electricity bills combined. Unfortunately though, that doesn’t mean your bill is capped, it only limits what energy supply companies can charge per unit of gas and electricity. The more you use, the higher your bill will be. Energy bills are 65 per cent higher than they were before Russia invaded Ukraine. With the war in the Middle East as well, geopolitical issues continue to keep fossil gas prices high.

Martin Lewis at Money Saving Expert is seen as the oracle for a lot of financial advice. Based on current predictions he says “If you find a fix for up to two per cent more than the new (Oct to Dec) Price Cap, it's predicted you'll save over the year compared with staying on the Price Cap.”

Visit www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/are-there-any-cheap-fixed-energy-deals-currently-worth-it/ website for all the details you need to see the one year deals that are currently available and it’s updated frequently as and when the market changes.

The majority of fixed deals only last twelve months too and while there are some options that will let you fix for longer, no one can predict whether these are worth it.

When it comes to switching or leaving longer fixes, the exit fees should be considered. The link above also has a should you fix energy calculator which will help you decide the best course of action. Visit https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/are-there-any-cheap-fixed-energy-deals-currently-worth-it/#calc site.

If you don’t fix, you’ll be on the price cap and while we know firms can’t charge more than the price cap, they can charge less than that if they choose to. There are currently four variable tariffs which work out cheaper than the current price cap; EDF, E.on Next Pledge, Fuse Every and the Octopus Tariff Tracker.

There are also ‘time of use’ tariffs’ that let households make the most of cheaper off peak rates, if you have a smart meter. These allow you to charge your electric car at night or time washing machine early in the morning when demand is lower on the grid. ,

There’s no “one solution for everyone,” when it comes to answering this question, it depends entirely on circumstance, so it’s really worth doing your homework to see what will work best for you. And as always using less energy is the key to lower bills. Removing draughts and insulating your loft and walls, if possible, will all help cut costs and keep bills low in the future.

Fact or fiction

50 percent more.

Internal combustion engine cars are written off at double the rate of electric vehicles.

FACT.

EVs are written off far less frequently than their gas guzzling counterparts.