Annual Pumpkin Rescue Campaign officially underway with Hubbub
Tuesday the 13th of October marked the beginning of local charity Hubbub’s annual Pumpkin Rescue campaign.
Hubbub takes pride in their ability to ‘disrupt the status quo to raise awareness’ of climate change, and to promote better ways of living that are good for the environment.
Hubbub’s previous successes include the campaign that led to several major UK coffee cup retailers recycling 5 million coffee cups in just one year, as well as more general long-running campaigns to tackle litter, promote sustainable fashion, and reduce food waste.
Their annual Pumpkin Rescue campaign aims to reduce household waste, by providing exciting and innovative ways to utilise (and eat!) the humble store-bought pumpkin.
A recent Censuswide national survey commissioned by Hubbub of 3,000 people, found that only one-fifth of households that usually trick or treat are planning to engage in the door-to-door activity this year.
This however does not seem to be negatively affecting pumpkin carving activities, with the number of pumpkins expected to be carved at approximately 23.5 million, but with a whopping 12.8 million going unused after Halloween is over.
The survey, which took place in September, also found that only 42% of all respondents knew that a store-bought pumpkin could be eaten, something which Hubbub is determined to change.
Hubbub Charity said: “Laid end to end, the uneaten pumpkins would stretch 2,816km, which is almost exactly the same distance as travelling from John O’Groats to Land’s End – and back again! (1,407km one way).”
Using the hashtag #EatYourPumpkin, Hubbub have posted a variety of recipes that are both sustainable and delicious, alongside tips to ensure you buy the best pumpkin, and ideas for how to keep your kids entertained at home.
Chef Nena Foster, a supporter of the campaign said: “You can use almost every part, for the skin, flesh, seeds and insides.
“If you’re carving a pumpkin this Halloween with your children, you can also use the bits you’d usually throw away to get cooking!”
Furthermore, Hubbub are keen to emphasise that when Halloween is done and you have eaten your fill, any remaining pumpkin bits still need to be disposed of correctly.
Tessa Tricks at Hubbub said: “Every pumpkin eaten is a step towards tackling the 6.6 million tonnes of food and drink that is thrown away from UK homes every year.”
Hubbub are urging the public to either compost, put them out for the birds or simply pop them into your food disposal bin; this will heavily negate the harmful environmental effects of waste.
The charity said: “The research suggests two million pumpkins will end up in the general household bin which will produce harmful greenhouse gases if sent to landfill.
“If we all stop wasting food that could have been eaten, the benefit to the planet would be the equivalent of taking one in five cars off the road.”
From now leading up to Halloween, the Pumpkin Rescue campaign has a huge amount of Halloween themed content streaming on their Facebook Live and IGTV, from sustainable and safe activity ideas for Halloween, to a cooking and caring competition.
Further information can be found at https://www.hubbub.org.uk/eat-your-pumpkin.
Twitter: @hubbubuk
Facebook: @HubbubUK
Instagram: @helloHubbub
LinkedIn: Hubbub-UK
