With Halloween over, residents in Powys are being encouraged to avoid throwing away their leftover pumpkins and consider alternative uses for them.

According to recent research conducted by environmental charity Hubbub, it is estimated that 30 million pumpkins will be purchased and carved in the UK this year.

Shockingly, 16 million of these will end up in regular household trash bins, amounting to approximately 95 million meals' worth of wasted pumpkins, equivalent to £26.7 million in value.

On a local level, Powys residents are expected to go through around 63,000 pumpkins this Halloween, generating approximately 135 tonnes of additional food waste.

What's even more concerning is that most of these pumpkins will be used solely for decoration purposes and not be consumed.

To combat this issue and promote sustainability, the council's recycling teams are urging residents to maximize the use of their pumpkins. Apart from using the shells for carving, the inner part of the pumpkins can be utilized to create delicious recipes such as pumpkin soup, pumpkin tart, or even pumpkin lasagna.

Pumpkin seeds can also be baked as a delightful snack. Recipe ideas and more can be found on the Love Food Hate Waste website at www.lovefoodhatewaste.com.

To properly dispose of pumpkin remains after Halloween, residents are advised to add the shells to their compost heaps or chop them up and place them in their food caddies.

If the pumpkins are relatively intact and not too rotten, they can be left on top of the kerbside food caddy for a one-time post-Halloween collection by the council's crews. Candles should be removed before disposal.

Cabinet Member for a Greener Powys, Cllr Jackie Charlton, said:

"Most people in Powys do a great job of recycling their food waste each week. So this year, we really hope that they will keep up the good work and add any leftover bits of Halloween pumpkins to their food waste caddy.

"It is fascinating to know that for every recycled pumpkin shell we generate enough energy to power the average family home for an hour, and goes a long way to support Wales' drive to create more green energy through anaerobic digestion plants.

"So please remember, once you've scooped out your pumpkin, eaten all you can, had fun making scary lanterns, just remember to pop your leftovers in the food bin and play your part in a cleaner, greener future."

For more information on food waste, recycling, details about kerbside recycling containers, and handy hints and tips regarding recycling, please visit the Bins, Rubbish, and Recycling section on the Powys County Council website at https://en.powys.gov.uk/recycle.