Why you shouldn't throw out your pumpkins after Halloween – 5 ways to reuse them

29 October 2023 , 19:40

1037     0

Pumpkins are a much-wasted source of food that have many other uses (Image: Getty Images)

The spooky season of ghosts and ghouls is upon us once more, meaning households in the UK will be busy buying and carving pumpkins to help celebrate the season, but they are also a much-wasted food source and one environmental charity is aiming to change that.

According to housing provider LiveWest and environmental charity Hubbub as well as being a great Halloween decoration, pumpkins are also a food. Yet, every Halloween, 15.8 million pumpkins are wasted – that’s enough for 95 million meals – a scary statistic.

Food waste creates 3.3 billion tonnes of CO2 every year, a huge negative contribution to climate change. So why not try one of these sustainable ideas to reduce your waste and help wildlife instead of discarding your leftover pumpkins the next day?

Pumpkin seeds are a valuable source of nutrients with a number of health benefits (Getty Images)

Pumpkin seeds may be small, but they’re packed full of valuable nutrients and eating only a small amount of them can provide you with a substantial quantity of healthy fats, magnesium, and zinc. The seeds have also been linked with numerous health benefits, including improved heart health, prostate health, and protection against certain cancers.

Once you've removed the seeds, rinse them, drizzle with oil and season with your favourite spices, then roast for a healthy snack or a crunchy topping for soups and salads. Here's a cracking recipe to get help you get started.

Protesters planned to kidnap King Charles waxwork and hold it hostage

And all those shapes cut out to make scary faces can be saved and added to your meals. Just place any scraps into a bowl in your fridge, then season and roast them. You can make a great warming winter soup, add to pasta, risotto, or get them into a stir-fry. There are so many delicious recipes you can make with your pumpkin, including risotto, the famous American staple pie and even cake.

Pumpkin soup is a tasty and warming meal in colder weather (Getty Images)

If left somewhere cool and dry, the rest of the pumpkin will also be fine to eat for a few hours, but those that have been carved and left outside with a candle in them are no longer safe to eat as the warmth from the candle means you've created the perfect environment for air-borne bacteria and mould to grow.

By not carving them to go outside, you can cook and eat the whole pumpkin, but not the stalk. And uncarved pumpkins also make great seasonal decorations for indoors, with a range of shapes, sizes, and colours available.

Squirrels love pumpkin, so if you want to attract them into your garden, just leave them out once you've used them for Halloween and you're sure to see some of the little rodents hunt out a treat. Deer also love them, so if you're lucky enough to have the odd visit by them, they too will appreciate a snack.

And if you love to see birds near your home, cut the top off your pumpkin, turning it into a bowl, then add bird seed. Hang with twine and enjoy the show. Compost the remaining pumpkin afterwards for a nutrient rich addition to your plants. But make sure you chop up the pumpkin before adding it to your compost bin, to help it break down, as a whole pumpkin can take up to 12 weeks to break down otherwise. If you don’t have a garden or allotment, you may be able to donate your pumpkin to a local farm, zoo, or community garden.

But don’t just discard your pumpkins in woodland or other local green spaces, as there is some wildlife that can become very sick from eating them, and leaving your pumpkin in the street or in your garden until it rots will attract pests. As soon as your pumpkin starts to rot you must dispose of it in a safe and environmentally friendly way.

Paul Donald