Overview
- Forestry England cautioned against leaving pumpkins in forests, saying rotting gourds can make hedgehogs and other animals ill and may spread disease, especially when decorated with paint, wax or glitter.
- UK councils urged residents to avoid black bins and woodland dumping, advising use of food waste caddies, brown bins or home composting after removing all decorations and candles.
- Horticultural experts warned that whole pumpkins left on soil or tossed intact into compost create slimy, anaerobic conditions and can deplete nitrogen, recommending chopping and mixing with dry “browns” or burying a few inches deep to deter pests.
- Scale and climate impact remain significant, with US data citing over 1 billion pounds of pumpkins in landfills each year and UK estimates pointing to about 30 million pumpkins purchased and roughly 18,000 tonnes discarded.
- Practical reuse options highlighted by chefs and farms include cooking the flesh, roasting seeds, donating clean pumpkins for animal feed where accepted, and composting even mushy gourds once all non-organic decorations are removed.