Stafford Borough Council is reminding residents that chopped-up pumpkins can be placed in food waste caddies ahead of Halloween next week. Bin crews are expecting a rise in food waste over the coming weeks as households dispose of leftover pumpkins.
The council has asked residents to remove candles, lights and other non-edible decorations from pumpkins before putting them in the caddies, which are emptied weekly.
How the food waste service works
Stafford Borough Council introduced the food waste service in April this year. The scheme has collected an average of more than 80 tonnes of food each week from local homes. This will be the first Halloween since the new service began, and the council is encouraging residents to use the caddies for leftover pumpkins rather than throwing them away.
All food waste is taken to an anaerobic digestion plant where it is converted into energy. The digestate produced is then used in agriculture to improve soil.
The food caddy is collected alongside the green, blue and brown bins, but at a different time of day and in a different vehicle.
What can and cannot go in the caddies
Items that can go in the new caddies include pumpkins and other food waste. However, the caddies cannot be used for liquids, oils, fats, garden waste or food packaging.
Councillor Ian Fordham, Cabinet Member for the Environment, said: "Our residents have been fantastic in supporting the new food waste service which was the biggest change to household recycling across the whole borough for more than a decade. And we expect to see that waste increase in the days following Halloween when people have finished with their pumpkins — although I hope residents will take the time to look at the ideas on the 'Love Food Hate Waste' website."
An estimated 18,000 tonnes of pumpkins are thrown away uneaten across the UK after Halloween, although some households turn theirs into soup or pie.
More information on the new service is available at www.staffordbc.gov.uk/food-waste