Don't waste your pumpkins

Are you binning your Halloween pumpkin this year. Powys County Council says more than 15,000 could be wasted in the county after the spooky day.

The authority estimates that just 25% of the leftover pumpkins make the food recycling bins with the rest chucked away in the general rubbish. In total, around 75 tonnes of pumpkin could end up in the bin. 

Now, the council’s recycling teams are reminding us that as well as using the shells for carving, we should also make use of the insides of the pumpkins to make dishes such as pumpkin soup, pumpkin tart or even pumpkin lasagne.

The seeds can even be baked for a snack and there are plenty of recipe ideas on the Love Food Hate Waste website: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com.

Cabinet Member for Waste and Recycling, Cllr Heulwen Hulme, said: “Some of the pumpkins can be quite large, so leaving it alongside the caddy is just fine. We’ll pick it up and make sure it’s sent off for recycling with the rest of the county’s food waste.

“It is fascinating to know that for every 10 tonnes of food waste we recycle, we help to create enough green electricity to power the average household for a year 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 https://en.powys.gov.uk/recycle.