With Halloween just around the corner, Hull City Council is reminding residents how to dispose of their Halloween pumpkins responsibly.
While pumpkin picking and carving are popular seasonal traditions, every year millions of pumpkins are incorrectly discarded, contributing to food waste.
Once Halloween is over, the council urges residents to turn their pumpkins into tasty meals such as soups and pies.
However, if pumpkin isn’t particularly to your taste, or they’re past their best, pumpkins can be placed in the food waste caddy or brown bin, which are now collected weekly under the new government-led Simpler Reycling reform and taken away for composting.
Before disposal, remember to remove any candles, or decorations.
Those with home compost bins can also compost pumpkins themselves. Chopping them into smaller pieces will help them break down more quickly, creating nutrient-rich compost for the garden.
Pumpkin seeds can also be roasted and turned into a healthy snack. Any leftover seeds can be placed in the food waste caddy, brown bin or home compost bin.
Above all, the council urges residents not to dispose of Halloween pumpkins in the black bin, or dump them in woodlands, as this can harm wildlife and disrupt local ecosystems. Pumpkins can also cause digestive issues in animals and introduce harmful bacteria into the environment.
Councillor Mike Ross, leader of Hull City Council, said: “As a council, we are committed to reducing waste and making it as easy as possible for residents to recycle more.
“With weekly food caddy and brown bin collections now in place through Simpler Recycling, residents have a straightforward way to dispose of their Halloween pumpkins responsibly.
“Whether you turn your pumpkin into a meal or contribute to turning them into compost, we can make Halloween environmentally friendly as well as fun.”
For more information, visit Homepage – Simpler Recycling