Environment: West Berkshire urged to 'eat their pumpkins' as Hubbub estimates 14.5m will be left to waste this Hallowe'en

A terrifying 14.5 million pumpkins are expected to be left uneaten this Hallowe'en, in the UK alone.

Environment campaigning group Hubbub estimates that three in five people will buy at least one pumpkin this year – that's 35 million pumpkins.

Just under half of those are set to go to waste, because after carving, most of their guts are simply thrown away.

A pumpkin is not just for carving, you can use it for compost or it can go in your green bin at home. You can also feed it to wildlife – foxes, badgers and squirrels are all happy to munch on a pumpkin.

Pumpkin Rescue launched in Oxford in 2014 to show people how to save them from the bin.

In 2015 Pumpkin Rescue was taken on by 25 UK towns and even went across the Atlantic to the US. 2016 saw more than 40 community festivals across the UK and Asia, supporting 126 events.

In 2018, a total of 31 groups ran 40 events across the UK.

So far, Pumpkin Rescue has created 239 local events and workshops attended by a total of 18,600 people leading to thousands of pumpkins being diverted from landfill.

All you really need to do to play your part is to join in the #EatYourPumpkin campaign. But the Pumpkin Rescue team has plenty more ideas to help you make the most of the important resource.

For recipe inspiration and more information on how to reduce your waste, visit the Pumpkin page.