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Pumpkin farmer carves out plan for Halloween waste

George Carden / BBC Hundreds of pumpkins in a fieldGeorge Carden / BBC
People are being encouraged to use pumpkins for decorating and eating this Halloween rather than buy plastic products

A farmer has called for real pumpkins to be used to mark Halloween instead of plastic decorations.

Caroline Harriott, who runs Sompting Pumpkins in West Sussex, said the fruit should be used to decorate homes and then cooked at the end of the month to avoid waste.

A scary 18,000 tonnes of uneaten pumpkins are thrown away each year in the UK, according to waste management company Waste Managed.

When the fruit decomposes, it produces methane which is a key contributor to climate change, while plastic decorations end up as landfill waste.

George Carden / BBC Farmer Caroline Harriott wearing orange and standing in a field with hundreds of pumpkins behind her.George Carden / BBC
Farmer Caroline Harriott said cooking and eating pumpkins after using them for decoration will reduce waste

But Ms Harriott, whose farm offers more than 25 varieties of the fruit, has a trick to help reduce waste.

“When our field closes, we have soup kitchens come in and take pumpkins away or they go back into the soil and are eaten by worms which recycles them into organic matter for the next crop,” she said.

She called for people decorating their homes for Halloween to opt for real pumpkins over plastic this year.

“I think now people are deciding that rather than buying things that go to landfill, it’s much better to use something like a squash and a gourd for decorating than things that are plastic and go in the bin," she said.

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“Because we have all different shapes, sizes and colours, they look so beautiful around your living room," she said.

“They’re such a good way of making your house look pretty in autumn.”

Ms Harriott also encouraged pumpkin buyers to use them "to their full potential".

“At the end of it, you can eat them as well.

"We’re really hoping that with everyone so aware of the environment and how to look after it, they will utilise their pumpkins to their full potential."

According to environmental charity Hubbub, 40% of UK consumers buy pumpkins to carve for Halloween.

But 60% said they do not use the pumpkin to make any food such as pumpkin soup and instead just throw it into the general waste bin after they have finished carving.

The carvings from the pumpkin are safe to eat, although pumpkins that have been left outside with a candle can no longer be eaten.