Have a "Green" Halloween October 28, 2009 | AZPM

Story by Robert Rappaport

With "green" being one of the big buzzwords these days, there's an opportunity to make your Halloween celebration environmentally friendly.

The Pima County Department of Environmental Quality is offering up some tips on how to modify the scary day and save some resources in the process. Here's a sampling of the suggestions:

Green Costumes:

By fighting the temptation of sparkly store-bought costumes and using materials found in your home or second-hand stores, you can reduce pollution, save resources, and tap unexplored creativity.

Kids’ costumes can include a surfer with a board made from cardboard with a cool design painted on it, a sports figure with items from the closet or neighbor’s closet, a Hollywood diva using enhanced play dress-up items, a safari guide using camouflage or khaki clothes with hiking boots, a wide-brim hat and stuffed animals, or even a “1960s flower child” with painted T-shirts, bandanas, beads, and the obligatory flower behind the ear.

Green Treats:

Candy is dandy, but organic, fair trade fruit snacks, raisins, juice boxes, snack bars, trial size packs of veggie chips are a quicker way to sustainability. Young children also enjoy little trinkets like stickers, spinning tops, home made bean bags, or items from nature such as polished rocks and seashells.

Green Party:

Holding an environmentally-friendly party to celebrate Halloween is a great way to reduce our impact on the planet. Send e-invitations or make them from recycled materials, avoid disposable items, and serve locally grown food to green up your party. Be sure to put out extra containers to collect plastic bottles and metal cans for recycling.

Green Transportation:

Driving can be scary and also emits pollution into the air and our lungs. Instead of driving to each house and idling while the children are trick or treating, consider parking your vehicle and walking door to door with your children, or see if neighbors or family members might want to carpool. The fewer vehicles on our neighborhood streets, the safer our ghosts and goblins will be.

Special thanks to PDEQ's Beth Gorman and Karen Wilhelmsen