Most of the Pumpkin Smash uses  our community composting three sided pallet bins as they allow two people access at the same time and make it easier for people to  view  what is happening and the green:brown balance we try to acheive.

However, it is easy to compost pumpkins using home compost bins. Plastic bins allow the pumpkin to be smashed in situ restricting the mess resulting from the smashing processs. The slide show below shows a Green Johanna being used to compost pumpkins being topped with a layer of woodchip, as a brown bulking agent supplement with used coffee grounds.  

Halloween need not be the Festival of Food waste

 The charity Hubbub  estimate that 14.4 million pumpkins are expected to be left uneaten after Halloween  and that just under half are discarded as  waste. Even when the flesh of carved pumpkins is eaten the "lanterns" will be thrown away with many going to landfill.  It is calculated that in the UK only 33% cook the fresh of the pumpkins they carve  this will leave 12.8 million pumpkins  uneaten this Halloween.  Hubbub and local councils will be promoting the cooking of pumpkins and we included links to recipes It is not just a UK problem the U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated  that 1.91 billion pounds of pumpkins where grown in the USA in 2014 most of which, as in the UK, where used for carving and then thrown away

But as composters we would ask you to help Rescue  the lanterns so that they can be   composted to benefit the soil and climate. 

 This year's Halloween  Pumpkin  Smash, at Stokes Wood Allotments, Leicester will be on 12 November. Weekday Smashing sessions can be offered for schools 

As usual we will asked schools, pubs, clubs, and individuals to donate their carved pumpkins to be composted rather than send them to landfill. Last year we had over 200 donated. Please help us this year. Local schools and individuals will be invited to attend the event and join in the smashing of the pumpkins and starting the composting process.

If you are based in Leicestershire and would be prepared to act as a collection point, please contact us. If you have a community composting site, please consider organising your own collection. More details from carryoncomposting1@gmail.com

   . 

Carve it,  Cook it, Eat it, Compost it 

 Join us in reducing pumpkin waste while celebrating Halloween

Provide pumpkin recipes and cooking advice to friends, community groups, schools, and clubs. 

1. Get creative and carve your pumpkin at home or at a local centre e.g. school, community centre. Photograph  the pumpkin and carvers and send  the photographs to us to include on our carryoncomposting.com  website. (Email carryoncomposting1@gmail.com)  or post on our Carry on Composting Facebook page  Encourage carvers to cook the flesh from the pumpkins
2. Compost the remains of your carved pumpkin. at  our  Pumpkin Smash at Stokes Wood Allotment Compost Demonstration Site, Leicester 

Do not waste the flesh of your pumpkin follow the links to a wide range of pumpkin recipes.  There are  plenty of pumpkin recipes to help you use up all the different bits, from a traditional pumpkin soup and roasted seeds for snacks, to a more adventurous coconut pumpkin cake, and even pumpkin kimchi! Sweet or savoury, we just want to see them eaten.  For links check out:

Love Food Hate Love Food Hate Waste (https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/article/save-your-halloween-pumpkins-bin ). LFHW publishes  a range of pumpkin recipes such as: Gnocchi in Pumpkin and Chilli Sauce, Pumpkin & Butter Bean Broth, Pumpkin ravioli, Pumpkin Tart, Roasted Pumpkin, Roast Pumpkin Lasagne  and Coriander Soup. 

 Allrecipes     ( http://allrecipes.co.uk/ )   

  Search under pumpkins to find a wide range of recipes using pumpkins including pumpkin burgers, brownie bars with frosting, crunch cake, gooey pumpkin cake,

BBC Good Food (https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/pumpkin). Recipes From savoury soups to sweet treats

Country Living  (https://www.countryliving.com/food-drinks/g619/our-best-pumpkin-recipes-1008/) 

Recipes including pumpkin soups, pumpkin pastas, healthy pumpkin recipes, and so many more savoury meals.

If you would like further information  on Pumpkin Rescue please go to  the Hubbub national website:  

https://www.hubbub.org.uk/pumpkin-rescue

For more information on the Stokes Wood Pumpkin Smash see below . The carryoncomposting FB page or contact carryoncomposting1@gmail,com

 At our last event  over 200 pumpkin  lanterns and other pumpkins were saved from being sent to landfill as a result of the Pumpkin Smash at Stokes Wood Allotments Leicester. The Smash took place on the Composting Demonstration site where all the pumpkins  were composted as part of  the Smash. The technique  employed to smash the pumpkins varied depending whether the pumpkins were to be composted in the pallet bins, one of our range of  plastic bins, hot composted or buried in pits.  The age of the person smashing the pumpkin also played a part in the choice of method, younger "smashers" favouring a mallet while older volunteers mainly opting for spades. these where also used for pumpkin cricket which did seem to be very effective at sharing mushy pumpkin flesh amongst those standing to close to the action.

In 2019 CBBC filmed a segment for Newsround  on the Compost Demonstration site  showing children from Stokes Wood Primary School having an early Pumpkin Smash.   We have included a few photos to show the fun your children could have if they brought their carved pumpkins (or those collected at school)  to the Pumpkin Smash.

 Every pumpkin eaten is a step towards tackling the 7 million tonnes of food and drink that is thrown away from UK homes every year.  Do not waste the flesh of your pumpkin follow the links to a wide range of pumpkin recipes

Love Food Hate Waste (https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/search?search_api_views_fulltext=pumpkin)

LFHW publishes  a range of pumpkin recipes such as: Gnocchi in Pumpkin and Chilli Sauce, Pumpkin & Butter Bean Broth, Pumpkin ravioli, Pumpkin Tart, Roasted Pumpkin, Roast Pumpkin Lasagne  and Coriander Soup. 

 Allrecipes (https.//www.a;;recipes.com/)

Search under pumpkins to find a wide range of recipes using pumpkins including pumpkin burgers, brownie bars with frosting, crunch cake, gooey pumpkin cake,

BBC Good Food (https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/pumpkin)

Recipes From savoury soups to sweet treats

Country Living  (https://www.countryliving.com/food-drinks/g619/our-best-pumpkin-recipes-1008/)

Recipes including pumpkin soups, pumpkin pastas, healthy pumpkin recipes, and so many more savoury meals.

Pumpkin seeds, when toasted or baked, are rich in potassium and protein.

After Halloween take the skin of the pumpkin to a collection point or bring it to Stokes Wood Allotment site to join in the “Pumpkin Smash” 

Details from carryoncomposting1@gmail.com

Pumpkin Rescue : Schools

Suggestions as to how schools could participate in the 2022 Pumpkin Rescue and increase awareness of the amount of waste sent to landfill as a result of Halloween

 General

• Provide an assembly talk on pumpkin waste. There are PowerPoint slides available for download and modify at:

           http://www.carryoncomposting.com/441149742

• Provide pumpkin recipes (link available on carryoncomposting.com as above)
• Encourage school cookery clubs or catering to try pumpkin recipes

            Carved pumpkins

• Organise a  carved pumpkin event ( the pumpkins can be carved at the homes of students and brought into school) and photograph  the pumpkins at  the  school . Provide photos and news item to local press send them to carryoncomposting1@gmail.com .or post them on the Facebook Carry on Composting page 
• Arrange to display the carved pumpkins 
• Encourage carvers to cook the flesh from the pumpkins
• Give out list of recipes (Available on this site)
• Arrange a  “Pumpkin Smash at school and compost the flesh of the pumpkins or arrange for them to be smashed at Stokes Wood Allotment Compost Demonstration Site   (collection can be arranged)

Allotment Societies can all help reduce waste at Halloween and raise the profile of allotments as a environmental friendly activity  by taking part in our Leicester and Leicestershire Pumpkin Rescue events.

Biggest pumpkin

• It is likely that your Society  already holds pumpkin related events e.g largest pumpkin and donates the produce to a local charity or good cause. If so, please notify us so that your good deeds can be recorded nationally.  If the pumpkins are not donated could you consider talking to your local “waste food café”

Carved Pumpkin

• Organise a carved pumpkin event at members homes and photograph  the pumpkins 
• Encourage carvers to cook the flesh from the pumpkins
• Arrange for the Pumpkin to be Smashed at Stokes Wood Allotment Compost Demonstration Site  

Additional Activities

• Approach your local pub or café to ask them to serve pumpkin dishes or drinks over Halloween. We can provide a flyer for restaurants, pubs and cafes (see below) and publish  their details on the relevant websites. If they are doing this  already, they can benefit from additional free publicity with no extra effort.

Halloween Food Waste: You can help reduce the  Horror!

We are inviting pubs, cafes and restaurants in Leicester to join with us in making people more aware of food waste related to Halloween. The campaign also offers the restaurant the opportunity to promote itsefl, subject to current Covid rules,  as part of the caring community  simply by providing pumpkin based dishes over Halloween.

 Halloween is now Britain’s third biggest commercial holiday, after Christmas and Easter, and the country’s second biggest party night after New Year’s Eve.  A spooky side of Halloween is the shocking number of edible pumpkins that go to waste each year

Over a quarter of all Halloween pumpkins end up in landfill,  that is approximately 18,000 tonnes of food waste with  the flesh of many pumpkins going straight to the food waste bin or composting without being eaten - Hubbub and the local Pumpkin Rescue team  are urging pumpkin carvers, allotments schools and the public   across the county and city to join this year’s Pumpkin Rescue  to help reduce the waste sent to landfill.  This year should see the biggest ever Pumpkin Rescue event and it is hoped that Leicestershire will play a significant part by organising and participating in a   range of fun-filled cooking, carving  and composting events  festivals for all the family. 

 We need your help as every pumpkin eaten is a step towards tackling the 7 million tonnes of food and drink that is thrown away from UK homes every year.

Please join the project  and increase awareness of the different ways  pumpkin can be cooked and served by putting pumpkin dishes on your menu and advertising that you are doing so by registering with our Pumpkin Rescue project. This is a voluntary project and will not involve any cost to you.

 Please spread the world and give us details of your  pumpkin dishes or drinks  and we will put it on our local websites and notify Hubbub nationally. Please contact carryoncomposting1@gmail.com so that all of the efforts across the country and city can be recognised.

The Pumpkin Rescue is coordinated by environmental charity Hubbub, check out their website for fun, simple ways to live a healthier greener lifestyle.

You’ll also find plenty of campaign ideas so take a peak www.hubbub.org.uk

Hubbub: Inspiring healthier, greener lifestyles across fashion, food, homes and neighbourhoods.