Warwickshire County Council urges to people to recycle their pumpkins

Warwickshire County Cllr Heather Timms, the Warwickshire County Council portfolio holder for Environment and Heritage and Culture said: "Recycling is important whatever the season it is. This Halloween we are encouraging residents to recycle where possible and think creatively when it comes to Halloween extras, such as decorations and left-over pulp from your pumpkin.

We would like to thank Warwickshire residents for the continued recycling efforts currently being undertaken and urge them to keep up the good work for Halloween.”

Studies commissioned by Knorr and environmental charity Hubbub, found that: in the UK, 8 million pumpkins are binned after Halloween, the equivalent of enough pumpkin pie to feed the entire nation.

The studies also show 58 per cent of consumers buy pumpkins for Halloween.

Statistics also show 95 per cent of pumpkins grown in the UK are bought at Halloween.

Additionally, 51 per cent of people bin the flesh when hollowing out for carving.

While nearly 75 per cent of people dispose of the flesh in an environmentally friendly way - composting, food waste collection or eating it - 25 per cent throw it in the general waste bin and only 33 per cent actually eat them.

Warwickshire County Council recommends people dispose of their pumpkin in an environmentally friendly way.

The county council made the following suggestions:

- If you buy a pumpkin, eat the flesh. Hollow out the pumpkin as much as possible to create a thin layer of flesh, which will help give you more flesh to eat. Don't forget to eat the seeds too.

- Use your pumpkins as compost at home. Use the inside of the pumpkin to collect food scraps ready for composting. You can compost a pumpkin at home with or without a compost bin - see