Looking for a scare this Halloween?
Halloween can be a fun time for children and adults alike, but there are also some frightening facts that will give you goosebumps.
Every year over 30 million pumpkins are bought for decorating, yet many of them will be carved and not cooked.
A scary 18,000 tonnes of edible pumpkin ends up in the bin each year, uneaten. That’s £26.7 million worth of food thrown away!
As well as throwing away food, did you know 4 in 10 Halloween costumes are thrown away after only one wear?!
Halloween doesn’t have to be THIS hair raising! We’ve put together some tips and tricks to help you reduce waste and save money:
1. Bring an outfit back from the dead by repurposing it into a Halloween costume. Check out these frugal but frightening ideas.
2. Hosting a goulish get together? Here are some top tips to get the party started.
3. #EatYourPumpkin! Carving pumpkins are edible, cheap, nutritious, delicious, grow abundantly in the UK and can be cooked many different ways. Scoop out the flesh, guts and seeds, and use to make delicious pumpkin soup, pie, wedges and pasta sauce. Check out these eerie-sistable recipes!
4. Smaller is sweeter! Carving pumpkins are grown for size, not taste! Squash the myths and choose a smaller pumpkin this year, it’ll be tastier to eat.
5. Pimp your pumpkin – carving is so last year! Decorate to cut the waste, skip the mess and save the stress. It’ll keep your pumpkin fresher for longer, so you can carve it when you’re ready to eat. Why not opt for a decorative pumpkin you can re-use every year? Spooky AND sustainable! There are also plenty of other budget friendly ways to decorate our homes using everyday materials and a bit of creepy crafty magic.
6. After Halloween, smash your pumpkin into small pieces – a great activity for children – and add to your garden compost bin. Smaller pieces will rot down quicker than large chunks.
7. If you have a food waste collection in your area, pop it in your food waste caddy. Just remember to remove the candle and any decoration first! It will be used to generate energy and fertiliser for agriculture. Find out if your council provides a food waste collection here.
Do I have to chop my pumpkin up?
Each local authority area has different capacity for the amount of food waste they can collect, so if you’re a resident of Teignbridge, North Devon, South Hams, West Devon or Torridge you’ll need to chop your pumpkin up and put it inside your caddy along with the rest of your food waste. If you live in Torbay or Mid Devon you can put your pumpkin on top of the caddy on collection day. Lastly, if you live in East Devon you can leave your pumpkin on top if your caddy is already full.
Every pumpkin eaten is a step towards tackling the 7.1 million tonnes of food and drink that is thrown away from UK homes every year.
For more ideas on reducing waste and saving money this Halloween, visit recycledevon.org.
