Halloween waste: What to do with it and other holiday trash
(CBS DETROIT) - Halloween 2022 has come and gone. However, that doesn't account for what the holiday left behind.
"It seems like everything is made out of plastic," says Aaron Hiday, compost program coordinator for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy
From decorations to all things costumes, plastic surrounds the holiday season with Halloween beginning it all.
"Reuse, save and reuse," Hiday says when talking about those decorations, candy pails and costumes. He says finding room to save those decorations is one of the best ways to help the environment when it comes to a holiday like Halloween.
"My wife and I, we've had these for over four years now," Hiday says while holding up a plastic pumpkin shaped trick-or-treating candy pail. "And the kids continue to use them because there's no need to buy a new one every year. I mean, a lot of plastic waste like that, if you can really use it, reuse it," he said.
Donations are also a possibility to explore when looking to find an alternative to ditching those costumes or decorations.
"If you're going to put them away and use them next year or donate them to a friend. Some other some other child might like to use it or taking it to a reuse center like goodwill," says Matt Fletcher, Michigan recycling market development specialist at EGLE. He echoed Hiday's sentiments by saying there are many alternatives to simply throwing away your Halloween themed items.
Live compost as well, particularly pumpkins, consist of over a billion pounds worth of production each year according to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center.
"If you have chickens or your goats or something that's able to eat those, feed them to them. If you have a backyard compost pile or compost bin, if you don't, you should make one. Put it in the compost pile," says Hiday when talking about those pumpkins, gourds and squash.
Hiday concluded by saying that although holidays produce plastic and other types of waste, food waste is currently the biggest issue faced when it comes to landfills.
EGLE provided CBS News Detroit a list of some recycling drop- off sites in Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties.
Recycling Drop Off in Wayne County:
-Carleton Farms Landfill 28800 Clark Rd, New Boston
-City of Gibralter29450 Munro Ave, Gibralter
-City of Riverview - 14100 Civic Park Drive
-City of Wayne -- Department of Public Works (DPW) 35200 Forest Ave., next to the Animal Shelter
-Detroit -- Recycle Here! 5960 Lincoln Street, Detroit
-Plymouth -- Plymouth Recycle Center -- 1231 Goldsmith
-Riverview Land Preserve -- 20863 Grange Rd, Riverview
-Trenton - Transfer Station 1801 Van Horn Road
-Wayne -- Woodland Meadows Recycling and Disposal Facility -- 5900 Hannan Road
-Westland Recycle Center -- 37173 Marquette, Westland
-Wyandotte Recycling Center -- 1170 Grove St, Wyandotte
Recycling Drop Off in Macomb County:
-Armada -- Armada Township Transfer Station 21327 Armada Ridge Road
-Sterling Heights -- Clinton River Road Site --12260 Clinton River Road Sterling Heights
-Lenox -- Pine Tree Acres Landfill 36600 29 Mile Road
-City of Warren -- 25601 Flanders Avenue
Drop-off Recycling in Oakland County:
-Eagle Valley - 600 W. Silverbell, Orion Township
-Rose Township drop-off -9080 Mason Street, Holly (Rose residents only)
-Pontiac Drop-off - 575 Collier Road, Pontiac (Pontiac residents only)
-Pontiac Drop-off - City Hall parking lots on Saturdays (Pontiac residents only)
-Springfield Township Library - 12000 Davisburg Road, Davisburg, paper collection only
-Waterford Township - 5200 Civic Center Drive, Waterford, 2nd Saturday of month paper collection 9 am- 1 pm (Waterford residents only)
-Holly Township - paper bins in parking lots at 3 schools:
-Sherman Middle School - 14470 N. Holly Road, Holly
-Patterson Elementary - 3231 Grange Hall Road, Holly
-Holly Elementary - 801 E. Maple Street, Holly
-Brandon Township - lists Bedrock Recycling Center at gravel pit at 14415 CMI Drive in Groveland
Township, wood, cement and metal (large items only)
-Royal Oak Recycling (GFL) - 414 E. Hudson Street, Royal Oak, cardboard, paper, scrap metal, paper
shredding (must drop-off, no self-service for shredding)
-RRRASOC - 2 drop-offs, only available to residents of RRRASOC member communities
20000 W. Eight Mile, Southfield
-City of Novi DPW Garage - 26300 Lee BeGole Drive, Novi
-SOCRRA - 995 Coolidge, Troy - only open to residents of member communities and by appointment
From EGLE: This may not be a complete list. Please be sure to check with the community of the drop-off location for information, acceptable materials, hours, etc.