- Millions of pumpkins bought for Halloween are likely to go uneaten.
As Halloween creeps closer, WRAP is calling on households across the UK to embrace the spooky season sustainably. Through its Recycle Now and Love Food Hate Waste campaigns, WRAP is offering practical and creative ways to reduce waste, reuse materials, and make the most of every pumpkin.
Dr Sam Hubble, Behaviour Change Specialist, WRAP “Don’t let your pumpkin’s potential go to waste—scoop it, cook it, and eat it! Whether it’s a spooky soup or a ghoulishly good cake, there’s magic in every bite. Let’s make Halloween a treat for the planet, and our tastebuds.”
Pumpkin Waste: don’t bin the best bit of Halloween
Pumpkins are more than just spooky centrepieces – they’re packed with nutrients and culinary potential. Yet, millions of pumpkins bought for Halloween are simply thrown away uneaten.
WRAP is urging families to pimp their pumpkins:
- Cook creatively: From soups and risottos to muffins and pasta bakes, pumpkins can star in both sweet and savoury dishes.
- Snack smart: Roast the seeds for a tasty treat.
- Freeze for later: Parboil, cool, and freeze pumpkin chunks to enjoy long after Halloween.
With 4.4 million tonnes of edible food wasted annually in UK homes—enough to fill 36 million wheelie bins—making the most of your Halloween haul is a simple way to help the planet and your pocket.
Recycle Now: scary single-use plastics and carbon-neutral costumes
Halloween is often haunted by single-use plastics—from sweet wrappers to disposable decorations. But there’s good news for eco-conscious trick-or-treaters:
- Sweet wrappers: While not all local authorities can currently collect these at the kerbside, these can now be recycled at many supermarkets alongside plastic bags and wrapping. Use WRAP’s Recycling Locator to find your nearest drop-off point and check if you can recycle these from home.
- Low-carbon costumes: Get creative with recyclable materials like cardboard and old fabric, reuse costumes from previous years, or explore rental options for a more elaborate look. Charity shops and online marketplaces are great for finding pre-loved outfits—and for passing on outgrown ones.
- Share the Scare: Hosting a Halloween party? Challenge guests to craft their own recycled costumes!
Ditch the disposable: sustainable swaps for Halloween decor
Plastic pumpkins, masks, and partyware are frightfully familiar —but there are easy, planet-friendly alternatives:
- Real pumpkins: A natural, plastic-free decoration that’s also edible. WRAP and Love Food Hate Waste offer delicious recipes to help you make the most of your pumpkin.
- Paper decorations: Budget-friendly and recyclable, paper pumpkins, spiders, and skeletons make great DIY bunting.
- Face paint over masks: A fun and waste-free way to get into character.
- Reusable partyware: Swap disposable cups and cutlery for real ones.
- Sustainable trick-or-treat buckets: Wicker baskets or metal containers decorated by the kids add charm and reduce plastic.
Let’s make this Halloween a celebration of creativity, community, and sustainable choices.
For more tips and resources, visit Recycle Now and Love Food Hate Waste.
Notes to Editor
- WRAP is a global environmental action NGO catalysing policy makers, businesses and individuals to transform the systems that create our food, textiles and manufactured products. Together these account for nearly 50% of global greenhouse emissions. Our goal is to enable the world to transition from the old take-make-dispose model of production to more sustainable approaches that will radically reduce waste and carbon emissions from everyday products. To do so we examine sustainability challenges through the lens of people’s day-to-day lives and create solutions that can transform entire systems to benefit the planet, nature and people.
- Our work includes: UK Plastics Pact, UK Food & Drink Pact, UK Textiles Pact and the campaigns Love Food Hate Waste and Recycle Now. We run Food Waste Action Week and Recycle Week.