Have a spook-taular but green Halloween!

We want you to enjoy a ghoulish but green Halloween, so this week (25 to 28 October 2011) we are running a series of four spookily themed Love Food Hate Waste roadshows around the county. These are a chance for you to speak to recycling officers about how to cut food waste, and any general recycling questions you may have.

You can also pick up tips on catering for frightfully good Halloween parties, which can help to save you money by ensuring you make the most of the food you buy.

So don’t be frightened to recycle this Halloween – here are our top tips:

• Going to a Halloween party? Why not get creative and make your own scary costume out of old clothes or visit the local charity shop and see what they’ve got on offer that you can use.
• Plus after the party, don’t forget to put your costume to the back of your wardrobe for next year.
• Are you hosting a party? Why not borrow or hire extra cutlery rather than using disposable ones, which will get thrown in the bin afterwards.
• If you are taking your children trick-or-treating, why not take a reusable bag or ice cream tub for collecting treats. And, don’t forget to put rechargeable batteries in your torch.
• Making a lantern? Remember to use all of your pumpkin – there’s lots of treats you can make with the flesh, so don’t waste it – see www.lovefoodhatewaste.com for recipe ideas.
• And after you’ve finished with your pumpkin, try composting it.

Spookily good party food

As the nights draw in and winter approaches, we’ve got Halloween and Bonfire night to look forward to. But catering for these occasions can be expensive.

Here are some tips to help our pockets and make sure we make the most of the food we buy:

• Value packs are an economical way of catering for a big group. If buying ahead of time, split food like meat into portions and freeze. Take the food you wish to use out of the freezer the night before and put it in the fridge.
• Preparing trays of warming lasagne or shepherd’s pie, and batches of bolognaise or spicy chilli is a great way to feed a crowd. Leftovers can be frozen to make homemade ‘ready meals’.
• Jacket potatoes wrapped in foil and cooked in the fire on bonfire night is traditional. Any leftover spuds can be diced and sautéed in a bit of olive oil or butter and eaten for breakfast.
• Making lanterns this year? Don’t forget to compost the shell when celebrations are over.
• Use up cheese by cutting into cubes and popping it on a cocktail stick with a chunk of tinned pineapple. Did you know? Cheese can be grated and put into the freezer for use in cooking and sprinkling over food at a later date.
• A fun way to use up apples in danger of not being eaten is to make toffee apples – the kids will love them. Dip into two melted tablespoons of sugar – hey presto.
• Turn any overripe autumn fruit into sumptuous warming fruit crumbles. How about combining apples, pears or plums together?
• Why not send guests home with any leftover slices of cake or gateaux?

Have a ghoulish and green Halloween

Joining in with the spirit of Halloween, our recycling officers will be attending the Bedlam & Broomsticks event at Nothe Fort, Weymouth tomorrow (Tuesday 26 October) from 10.30am.

A great day of spooky fun for all the family, we’ve organised plenty of themed reuse and recycling related activities for children, so stop by our stand and have a go. Activities include Halloween grass heads and badge making, plus lots more.

Our recycling officers will be available to chat to you about any recycling issues or waste reduction campaigns. The stand will also be packed with lots of useful information from stopping food waste to home composting, so we hope to see you there!

Don’t be frightened to recycle this Halloween. Here are three top ‘tricks’ to scare your family and friends but ‘treat’ the environment:

• Going to a Halloween party? Why not get creative and make your own costume out of recycled materials or visit the local charity shop and see what they’ve got on offer that you can utilise
• Making a lantern? Don’t for get pumpkin leftovers can be used to make shockingly good recipes such as roast pumpkin lasagne or pumpkin tart, visit the Love Food Hate Waste website (opens in a new window) for more
• Save your fancy dress costume and reuse it next year or recycle as much of it and any Halloween decorations as possible. Remember pumpkin leftovers can be composted

Let us know if you have any scary tips to help recycle this Halloween!