Zero-Waste Ideas: November 1 Instead of Candles

1. Wreaths for November 1

Ana Lozar, an employee at our store, shares this idea of using wreaths instead of candles:Still haven’t figured out what to use instead of candles to decorate the graves of your loved ones in the most eco-friendly way for November 1—All Saints’ Day?It’s already a tradition in our family to go on a foraging hike about a week before November 1st and gather whatever we find beautiful and useful for making wreaths. This year, we found pieces of bark, thin olive and mulberry twigs, rose hips, ivy, rosemary, lavender, and all sorts of flowers, fruits, and seeds whose names I unfortunately don’t know. ;)Then all that’s left is the crafting, which is a great family “team-building” activity. Just use string and raffia to secure and tie everything together—of course, it’s best to use whatever you already have at home.The result is eco-friendly, unique, and lovingly crafted wreaths. You can take them to the cemetery or use them to decorate your home. Have fun crafting! :)

2. Hand-Painted Stones with Candles

Instead of plastic candles, you can gather with family and friends to paint pebbles, which you can then take to the grave. Round river pebbles work best.I found two examples of such pebbles on the Facebook group “Zero Waste Home”: first example, second example.If you’d rather buy them than make them yourself, that’s also an option. @kajajudez tagged us in her Instagram story a few days ago:

3. Make your own candle using eco-friendly and sustainable materials

You can also make your own candle using jars and other items you already have at home, and use waste cooking oil instead of paraffin or wax.

I found some great articles in Slovenian on how to make a candle at home:

• Candles Made from Used Cooking Oil
• Eco-Friendly DIY Grave Candles

You can find some examples and photos of homemade candles in the “Zero Waste Home” group at this, this, this, and this link.

You can also buy the ingredients for making candles from waste oil (or ready-made candles) on the Oilright website.

4. Buy a more eco-friendly candle

There are many sellers, ranging from small artisans who make laser-cut wooden “candles” to the Adrifund campaign, to candles made of glass (not plastic):

• Oilright
• EDINA, an eco-friendly candle —Adrifund campaign

5. Light a virtual candle

Under the auspices of the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning of the Republic of Slovenia, the website “Sveča manj” (One Less Candle) has been operating for several years, where you can light a virtual candle—after all, the memory of our departed loved ones is what matters most.

Do you know of any other solutions?

Share it in the comments below, and I’ll add it to the list so others can discover it too.