Every year in the UK, around 18,000 tonnes of uneaten pumpkins are sent straight to landfill. As they break down, they release methane into the atmosphere – the second biggest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide.
However, the jack-o’-lanterns’ dark fate can be avoided. Read on to learn what you can do with your pumpkins after Halloween and cut down on food waste.
Frightening facts about pumpkins
Around half of the pumpkins bought and carved for Halloween aren’t eaten, which is equivalent to 95 million meals. This is a huge waste, particularly in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis with soaring food costs and an increase in food poverty across many parts of the country.
It’s not surprising that so many pumpkins are wasted, given that just 59% of people in the country know that they are edible.
Awareness campaigns are essential in helping people cut down their food waste. Around Halloween, this is seen by encouraging the cooking and eating of pumpkins in homes and businesses.
How do you dispose of pumpkins responsibly?
It’s always best to recycle everything that’s left of a jack-o’-lantern, but sometimes this isn’t possible. Pumpkins that have been left outside aren’t safe to eat – but fear not – as there are still environmentally-conscious methods of disposal.
Compost your pumpkin
In appropriate, oxygen-rich conditions, a whole pumpkin, uncut, can take 8-12 weeks to decompose. However, if a pumpkin were sent to a landfill, it could take up to 20 years to break down.
During that time, it’s releasing methane – a greenhouse gas that persists in the atmosphere for 12 years, responsible for 30% of global warming since the industrial revolution.
This can all be avoided with composting. Composting is simple and easy to do, either at home or in community compost bins. Chop your pumpkin up into smaller pieces, pop them in the bin, give everything a good mix, and cover with leaves.
If you don’t have a compost bin, don’t worry, you can also simply bury your pumpkin instead. This provides essential nutrients to your soil, helping your garden to thrive.
Dispose of your pumpkin in the food waste bin
The Simpler Recycling scheme, launched in 2025, states that businesses and households must separate their rubbish into four distinct waste streams:
- Food waste
- Paper and card
- Dry recyclables such as glass and plastic
- Non-recyclable waste
Discarded pumpkins must go in the food waste bin. As they are frequently composted, this can lead to confusion as to whether they go in the garden bin. While some local authorities and waste management companies will allow you to mix food and garden waste together, always consult your local service to ensure you comply with the law. This can be trickier for businesses that produce large amounts of commercial food waste, as significant measures may have to be taken for proper waste disposal and collection.
Separating food waste from non-recyclable material lowers greenhouse gas emissions. Less methane emissions are released into the atmosphere, and food waste can be used to generate electricity, reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
Can you cook your Halloween pumpkin?
Halloween pumpkins are grown with the intention of carving and therefore have thinner skins, less flesh, and are typically less flavourful than their smaller cousins.
However, with some clever cooking tricks, your jack-o’-lantern can be transformed into a variety of tasty dishes.
Pumpkin flesh
Roasting the carving pumpkin’s flesh will help to bring out its flavour. The smaller the pumpkin, the sweeter it will taste.
Pumpkin guts
Even a seasoned chef might assume that the stringy guts are inedible, but they can create a tasty broth. Simply boil them in water, then strain them for an excellent soup base.
Alternatively, mix the liquid with other fruit juices to make pumpkin juice. For extra autumn flavours, add sugar and spices to your juice.
Pumpkin seeds
You can roast pumpkin seeds to make tasty and healthy snacks. Do this by boiling them in salted water before baking them in the oven. Birds also love to eat raw pumpkin seeds, so you can capitalise on the seasonality of pumpkins by bulking up your stock of birdseed.
For lots of pumpkin recipes, check out Hubub’s ebook, and your jack-o’-lantern will be transformed into a plethora of tasty dishes.
Decorate your pumpkins instead of carving them
Once carved, pumpkins start to break down, and typically only last between 3-5 days. Because of this, many food producers are now encouraging Halloween enthusiasts to decorate the outside of their pumpkins with paint and spooky patterns, rather than slice them up. Without carving, a pumpkin can last up to three months.
Due to their long shelf life, many people are opting to decorate their homes with pumpkins of different shapes, sizes, and colours. This eliminates fiddly pumpkin carving, enhances your home, and most importantly, they’re edible and delicious.
Make spooky pumpkin face masks
If you’re not a fan of eating your jack-o’-lanterns, you can use them to make a face mask instead. Skin care doesn’t have to be expensive to be effective. Reusing your old pumpkin is a great way to save money and treat yourself to a relaxing evening.
Pumpkins have many great benefits for your skin:
- Anti-aging: pumpkins are rich in vitamins A, C, and E, and beta-carotene. Vitamin A is an antioxidant, and vitamins C and E lighten age spots. Beta-carotene boosts collagen production, which helps reduce wrinkles.
- Protects against sun and UV damage: vitamins A, C, and E help reverse UV damage and even out skin pigmentation, reducing sun spots and freckles.
- Skin brightening: pumpkins contain alpha-hydroxy acids (AHA) and fruit enzymes that break down dead skin cells. This can speed up the cell regeneration process, leaving skin softer and brighter.
- Treats acne and soothes redness: Vitamin E can help fight acne breakouts. Vitamin A and zinc, found in pumpkin seed oil, have anti-inflammatory properties that help relieve irritated skin.
Managing food waste to protect the planet
While throwing away one pumpkin every year may seem inconsequential to most people, the impact on the environment is significant.
Simple methods like cooking, composting, or proper waste disposal can hugely mitigate emissions and the overall waste produced at Halloween.
Cut down on waste with a trusted recycling partner
Experienced waste management companies like Yorwaste can provide your business with practical, simple solutions to waste control. It can also ensure you comply with all recycling legislation across the UK.
If you’re ready to make your business more sustainable, get in touch today. Our consultations are free, and we’ll conduct a waste audit to determine achievable goals specific to your company.
