10 Scary Sustainable Halloween Costumes Made From Recyclable Waste

When it comes to Halloween, one of the main things that make it special is the unique costumes that pop up every year! Homemade costumes almost always win over the store-bought kind in a costume contest as well. If you’re one of those Halloween fans that prefer to make your own costume… you’ve come to the right place! At CleanRiver recycling solutions, we’ve spent over 30 years coming up with ways to reduce our waste with the use of commercial recycling bins, recycling programs, and education. Most store-bought costumes are often made out of non-recyclable materials that can be harmful to the environment. Every year thousands of used costumes get thrown out and sent to landfills where they’re either burned or buried. Instead of buying your Halloween costume this year, why not make it instead? It’s more fun, and you’re guaranteed to have a one-of-a-kind look! If you need inspiration, here’s a list of ideas that are guaranteed to be a hit at parties… with the added bonus of being recyclable:

1. Garbage Can and Recycling Bin

What better way to kick off the list of recyclable costume ideas than a literal recycling bin made from recycled materials? These 2 costumes were made out of cardboard, duct tape, and other recyclable materials like the milk jug hat.

2. Tetris Blocks

An easy couples costume, or last-minute look… Tetris fans will appreciate the simplicity of this costume design that can be created using cardboard boxes, glue, and paint.

3. Jet Pack

More of an accessory than a full-on costume, but if you’re looking for a last-minute solution and you’ve run out of time this is your best bet. All you’ll need is a couple 2-liter pop bottles, some silver spray paint (optional), cardboard for mounting on the back, backpack-style straps, and felt/construction paper for the flames.

4. Traffic Light

Another quick and easy last-minute costume made out of cardboard, and paint or construction paper. Adding a new meaning to "green recycling".

5. Alligator

For the reptile enthusiasts, if you’re good with cardboard this could be a viable option for your Halloween festivities. Cut teeth from a white cardboard box, or similar recyclable material such as bristol board to glue on the interior of the mouth. Use elastics to secure the mask like a chinstrap. Paint for extra flare. (get creative and turn this idea into a dinosaur head if needed!)

6. Rubiks Cube

This is a stylish and creative costume that is a little more complex to make than the previous ideas. CLICK HERE for a step-by-step guide to recreate this look.

7. Animal Masks

If cardboard is all you’ve got, make the most of it with any of these simple animal mask designs.

8. Snail (Pet Costume)

Speaking of animals, why not make one for your dog? All you’ll need is the following:

5 yard waste bags (rolled up)
A headband
Tape or glue
Pipe cleaners

9. Snail (Kids Costume)

The same technique applied to your pets can be applied to your kids as well!

10. Your Own Creation

As you can probably tell, cardboard is a very versatile material and it’s one of the reasons why it’s so easy to recycle. If none of these costume ideas were of any interest you could incorporate recyclable materials in different ways to make something completely unique on your own terms. For example, make a solar panel out of recycled aluminum foil and bristol board… a train/truck out of recycled cardboard or bat wings out of an old umbrella. The possibilities are endless and only limited to your imagination. On behalf of the CleanRiver team, we wish everyone a safe and sustainable Halloween. We can’t wait to see what everyone does this year with their costumes!

Looking for more green recycling tips? Check out these other blogs:

CleanRiver Recycling provides a variety of innovative, flexible, and customizable recycling solutions. To determine the right solution to meet your needs, use the CleanRiver product selector. If you have additional questions that weren’t answered in this blog post please call us at 1-866-479-4038 or email solutions@cleanriver.com.