‘Have green Halloween’ says council

Although a lot of fun, Halloween can be an expensive and needlessly wasteful time of year, here are some top tips to make your waste less frightening.

Every year more than one million pumpkins are bought and carved for Halloween.

A huge trend of intricate pumpkin carving has emerged and many households display more than one pumpkin in their windows to keep the ghouls away.

In fact 90% of the total annual sales of pumpkins occur in October.

Sadly, this results in 180,000 tonnes of edible pumpkins being thrown into the bin each year.

Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council would like to encourage you to give new life to your pumpkins this year by turning them into a wholesome meal or tasty treat.

Keep the autumnal chills at bay by sipping on hot pumpkin and chilli soup as you watch the festive fireworks or try a slice of pumpkin pie.

Remember to save pumpkin seeds which can be roasted as a tasty savoury snack or pureed to make pumpkin seed hummus.

Or why not get crafty with the pumpkin seeds and use them to make autumn necklaces during the Halloween half term break.

Alternatively you can entertain the kids, and save some money, during the school holidays by helping them create their own costumes for the Halloween fancy dress events happening across the Borough.

Instead of buying a throw-away costume this year which will inevitably end up in your bin, design and make your own.

Keep old clothes throughout the year that you can turn into original, unique costumes or buy your outfits in charity shops instead of purchasing something new.

You can also swap or mix and match last year’s costumes with your friends.

You don’t have to be a master seamstress, just use a little imagination and let your creativity flow.

So this year have a waste free Halloween, join the #pumpkinrescue and gets lots of recipes and information from Hubbub at www.hubbub.org.uk and Love Food Hate Waste at www.ni.lovefoodhatewaste.com