It's SCARY how much pumpkin ends up in the bin each year!

25 October 2023

With Halloween drawing nearer, Powys residents are urged to make sure their leftover pumpkins don't meet a frightening end by being chucked away with the rest of the rubbish.

According to new research from environmental charity Hubbub, this year 30 million pumpkins are expected to be bought for carving in the UK, of which 16 million will be thrown out with the normal household rubbish. That is the equivalent of 95 million meals-worth of pumpkins set to go to waste, worth £26.7 million.

Closer to home, spooky Powys residents will go through around 63,000 pumpkins this Halloween, creating around 135 tonnes of extra food waste in the process. What is most terrifying, is that most of this will only be used for decoration and won't even be eaten.

The council's recycling teams would like to remind us all as well as using the shells for carving, they can also make use of the insides of the pumpkins to make many delicious recipes such as pumpkin soup, pumpkin tart or even pumpkin lasagne. The seeds can even be baked for a delicious snack. You'll find loads of recipe ideas on the Love Food Hate Waste website: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

Once they've had their day, your old pumpkin shells can be added to your compost heap or cut up and popped into your food caddy. If they are really big (and not too rotten) they can be left on top of your kerbside food caddy for a one-off post-Halloween collection by our crews. Please remember to remove any candles first.

Cabinet Member for a Greener Powys, Cllr Jackie Charlton, said: "Most people in Powys do a great job of recycling their food waste each week. So this year, we really hope that they will keep up the good work and add any leftover bits of Halloween pumpkins to their food waste caddy.

"It is fascinating to know that for every recycled pumpkin shell we generate enough energy to power the average family home for an hour, and goes a long way to support Wales' drive to create more green energy through anaerobic digestion plants.

"So please remember, once you've scooped out your pumpkin, eaten all you can, had fun making scary lanterns, just remember to pop your leftovers in the food bin and play your part in a cleaner, greener future."

More information on food waste, recycling, your kerbside recycling containers, or for handy hints and tips on what can and can't be recycled, please visit Bins, Rubbish and Recycling