Skip to main content
Eastleigh Borough Council
  • Residents
  • Business
  • Council
  1. Home
  2. Latest news
  3. Don’t waste your pumpkin

Don’t waste your pumpkin

Your pumpkin could help heat your home over winter, or power your Christmas lights!

22 October 2025
Pumpkinsrecyling

Every October, around 18,000 tonnes of pumpkin go to waste across the UK, despite pumpkins being an incredibly versatile food.

Once you’ve carved your spooky decoration, try using the leftover flesh to make seasonal pies, soups, hummus, or even smoothies. Toasted pumpkin seeds make a nutritious snack, and furry friends like hamsters can enjoy them raw. You can also save seeds to plant your own pumpkins for next Halloween.

After Halloween, remove the candles and add them to your food waste caddy. If a whole pumpkin doesn’t fit, please place the whole pumpkin on top of the caddy for collection day.

Food waste is sent to an anaerobic digestion plant, where it’s converted into fertiliser for crops and biogas for electricity generation. So, your pumpkin could help heat your home over winter, or power your Christmas lights!

Please watch this video to see what happens to your food waste: From Kitchen Waste to Clean Energy – Powering a Greener Hampshire

Contact details
  • Eastleigh Borough Council, Eastleigh House, Upper Market Street, Eastleigh, SO50 9YN
  • Telephone: 023 8068 8000
Support links
  • Jobs
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility
  • Feedback
  • Contact
  • Built by Etch

© Copyright 2026 Eastleigh Borough Council