Going Green: How to make the most of Halloween leftovers

There are around 13 million pumpkins that end up in the bin after Halloween every year

Not only that but we are also spending a massive £29 million on them every year – imagine what else that could be spent on.

If you want to extend the shelf life of your pumpkin, use marker pen to draw on it and decorate it rather than carving into it – if it’s kept somewhere warm, a carved pumpkin will start to wilt in a few days compared to a drawn on pumpkin that could last two months before it starts to fade.

If you’re intent on carving though, don’t waste any of the seeds. You can roast them and add any flavour you want – chilli powder, lime zest, vanilla – whatever your palate desires.

It can be a bit of a hassle getting the pumpkin string off the seeds but either get the kids involved and get them to get their hands dirty helping you out or you can slow roast the seeds with a bit of the flesh on as it’s easier to remove when it’s dried out in the oven.

When it comes to using the flesh of the pumpkin I’m not a fan of going as far as the Americans; they can keep their pumpkin pie but I do love pumpkin soup.

Simply cut the pumpkin into chunks and either roast it before blending it with some stock or you can cook it in the stock if you don’t want that roasted flavour or extra cooking time.

You can get a bit more adventurous with it too if you want to – roast it with curry or chilli and then blend it with coconut milk for a warmer version.

Either way, a real pumpkin is much better for the environment than buying the ‘ghostly’ plastic pumpkins all over the shops.

When it comes to trick or treating too … why not make rather than buy?

We always make chocolate rice crispy cakes – and put some miniature marshmallows on the top – they’re really popular and something a bit different to the bags of sweets that have a lot of plastic.

The average trick-or-treater generates 500g of rubbish from their sweets which usually ends up in landfill.

Do not be lured into buying costumes either for kids for just one evening.

The average Brit spends a staggering £100 on Halloween – from decorations to costumes – but the costumes are only really worn once. Who needs a witches outfit at any other time of year?

Some seven million Halloween outfits are binned every year and 83 percent of them are made from non-recyclable plastic so rather than waste, get to the local charity shop or check online marketplace and get creative too – there are plenty of ideas on social media so get searching some hashtags – you will be amazed what you can create.