4:10pm Friday 23rd October 2009
By Chris Hewett
Halloween pumpkins can be used to help save the environment according to Hertfordshire Waste Partnership.
Pumpkins can be composted along with tea bags, cardboard egg boxes and scrunched-up paper to create a free source of fertiliser.
On average, family composting saves 150 kilos of waste from going to landfill every year, reducing the powerful greenhouse gases it produces.
Derrick Ashley, chair of the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership, said: "As well as environmental benefits there are also financial benefits as composting at home eliminates the costs of transporting waste by road."
Anyone with a garden or outside space can make use of a composter, but pumpkins can also be put in food-recycling bins where available.
The Hertfordshire Waste Partnership is committed to increasing the amount of household recycling to 50 per cent by 2012, as well as reducing waste generated in the first place.
For information about compost bins available for purchase from Hertfordshire Waste Partnership telephone 0845 1306090.
For further advice on reducing waste visit the WasteAware website www.wasteaware.org.uk.
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