August 2026

Talking Trash with TVCR: Spooky Season Approaches! 

If you have kids in your life, you may already be talking about Halloween costumes. We’re about two months away from the festivities, and if you, like me, want to avoid buying a last minute plastic costume from a big box store, it’s time to start planning. There are so many ways to decrease waste around holidays, and buying secondhand is probably the best. Here are some tips:

• Brainstorm costumes details now. Does your seven year old need a black sweater to go over her witch dress? Start looking at the thrift stores or asking friends to borrow asap! 

• If your child wants to be a pirate, show them “diy” pirate costumes online rather than looking up brand new costumes. I’m sure you can find a striped shirt, bandana, eye patch, and plastic sword in this valley! 

• For crafty folks who are up all night at the sewing machine every October 29th and 30th, our local thrift stores have hundreds of pounds of fabric, leather and textiles ready to be made into new creations. Think outside the box! Fabric doesn’t have to come in rolls or bolts. It can come from old dresses, tablecloths, or shirts instead. 

• Use our local Facebook pages to source what you need. Ask the community if anyone has fairy wings, a dog costume, or an infant pumpkin suit for you to borrow. 

• List your old Halloween costumes on Facebook Marketplace so that they can have a second life. You can also bring them to local thrift stores!

• Check out thrift stores and garage sales for halloween decor. You’ll certainly find high quality and unique items. 

• If you’re hosting a halloween party, avoid the temptation to buy extra plastic nicknacks that will end up in the trash at the end of the night. 

Want to hear some spooky statistics? According to the National Retail Federation, in 2025 the average person spent $114 on Halloween, and as a whole, Americans spent $4.26 billion on costumes. That kind of spending creates thousands of tons of landfill bound trash. Help us spread the word to decrease our waste this Halloween! 

When we borrow from a friend or find something secondhand, we don’t just save money - we reduce trash from packaging, shipping, and manufacturing. We also end up with a unique costume and get to model for our children the value of thrift. 

P.S. Our annual event, Trash Bash, is November 7th from 5-7pm at Highpoint Cider. If you’d like to be a Trashionista and walk the runway, consider making your Halloween costume out of entirely secondhand items. We’ll have two categories: upcycled outfits (everyday wear) and trashy costumes (costumes made from trash that you’re not likely to wear everyday).