Double, double plastic trouble, climate burn and carbon bubble

As we approach the season of all things scary; goblins, ghoul’s, ghosts and…let’s face it we no longer need to wait for all Hallows Eve to face frightening figures. Every day we encounter the alarmingly scary plastic waste figures globally!

Due to the lack of festivities last year due to COVID-19 restrictions, it can be foreseen that there will be a high number of people eager to celebrate this year’s Halloween events. One of the more popular methods of celebrating the night is by dressing up in plastic, non-biodegradable and heavily overpriced costumes. On average, a single trick-or-treater can generate up to 1 pound of plastic waste and litter in just one night; with an estimated 65% of the world’s population expected to celebrate and participate in Halloween activities this year. It can be anticipated that the volume of plastic waste produced this season will soar.

Globally, we produce over 300 million tons of plastic every year; it was founded in 2020 that an estimated 2,000 tons of plastic waste is generated from “disposable” Halloween costumes every year. These costumes are often manufactured out of synthetic materials, significant volumes of greenhouse gasses and other harmful pollutants are released into the atmosphere in the process. In addition to this, the much awaited treat is not an innocent by-stander in the matter, as sweet wrappers are mostly made of 100% plastic they are often too small to be processed and so this waste is diverted straight to landfill where plastics make up almost 20% of all municipal solid waste.

These are just a number of issues that sit with a long list of many others that all combine to pose significant risk and threat to the environment. As a waste reduction equipment company, we aim to reduce the abundance of waste that our global environment continues to suffer with daily and more extensively at peak seasons such as Halloween.

This year PEL aims to address the volume of waste produced and inspire all participants to become more pro-active in celebrating Halloween sustainably. In doing so, this will help reduce our environmental impact on the atmosphere. We heavily encourage trick-or-treaters to responsibly dispose of litter. We have deployed fleets of BriteBin^TM Solar compacting street bins across many cities, towns and areas across Ireland the UK and Europe. By disposing of your litter into your nearest BriteBin^TM you are creating a cleaner environment for your community and natural biodiversity. The unit is sealed to avoid birds and vermin pilfering as well as that it offers a non-touch user experience due to the integrated foot pedal.

For further information on the BriteBin^TM Solar compacting litter bin range please click here

PEL wish everyone a very Happy Halloween, enjoy the long awaited celebrations of Trick-or-Treating and don’t forget to #britebinyourlitter