More than 15,000 pumpkins will be snapped up across Powys this Hallowe'en – and recycling bosses are urging residents to eat them.

Nationally, 25 per cent of all Hallowe'en pumpkins are thrown away with the normal rubbish – meaning 18,000 tonnes of food will be tossed away.

Closer to home, Powys residents will go through about 15,000 pumpkins this Halloween, Powys Council says, creating around 75 tonnes of extra food waste in the process.

Now Powys Council has urged local people to use the popular squash for food as well as for spooky seasonal carvings.

Recipe ideas are available from the Love Food Hate Waste website: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

Any bits of the pumpkin that aren’t used, including the shell, can be recycled by using the weekly household food waste collection service, creating green energy and an environmentally-sustainable fertiliser.

Cabinet member for waste and recycling, Cllr Heulwen Hulme, said: “Most people in Powys do a great job of recycling their food waste each week. So this year, we really hope that they will keep up the good work and add any leftover bits of Halloween pumpkins to their food waste caddy.

“Some of the pumpkins can be quite large, so leaving it alongside the caddy is just fine. We’ll pick it up and make sure it’s sent off for recycling with the rest of the county’s food waste.

“It is fascinating to know that for every ten tonnes of food waste we recycle, we help to create enough green electricity to power the average household for a year and goes a long way to support Wales' drive to create more green energy through anaerobic digestion plants.

“So please remember, once you’ve scooped out your pumpkin, eaten all you can, had fun making scary lanterns, just remember to pop your leftovers in the food bin and play your part in a cleaner, greener future.”