Pumpkins: from devilish decoration to sumptuous scran!

‘Wilful Waste Makes Woeful Want’: Old Scots proverb rings true as Scots throw out woeful 1.1 million pumpkins at Halloween

Research shows that out of the 1.8 million pumpkins carved in Scotland a year, a frightening 1.1 million are thrown away. That’s why Zero Waste Scotland, with support from The Real Mary King’s Close, Edinburgh’s social history visitor experience, is urging Scots to save their pumpkins by turning devilish decorations into sumptuous scran this Halloween.

The old Scottish proverb ‘wilful waste makes woeful want’ still rings true today. As Halloween draws near, Scots are heading out to buy their pumpkins, but the scary fact is that enough will be wasted to stretch from Edinburgh to Stornoway.

Polling reveals that over half of respondents say they had never thought of a Halloween pumpkin as food (1). But fear not, the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, from Zero Waste Scotland, has the recipes to make pumpkin waste a thing of the past.

Ylva Haglund, Food Waste Campaigns Manager, Zero Waste Scotland, said: “Everybody loves to make the most of Halloween, but this also means an ever-larger mountain of food waste each year. This is especially worrying given those in woeful want of food, so we aim to inspire people to turn their pumpkins into a delicious meal or snack. If pumpkin treats aren’t your style, then simply check with your local recycling service or turn your food waste into compost.

“We also know that the fight for climate change begins at home, as our Carbon Metric report shows, food waste contributes more to Scotland’s waste carbon impacts than other type of waste. It’s so important to avoid just chucking away perfectly edible food.”

Eilidh Macleod, Marketing Manager, The Real Mary King’s Close, said: “Such wilful waste of a perfectly good pumpkin probably would have seemed quite shocking to the inhabitants of the closes and wynds of Edinburgh in the seventeenth century. During a time of severe food shortage, pumpkins were far more likely to have been enjoyed as a savoury pumpkin pie or made into pumpkin beer.

“Indeed, the sage advice offered by the proverb ‘wilful waste makes woeful want’ would have taken on great importance, even for a fairly well-to-do family, like that of one of Edinburgh’s most famous daughters, Mary King. One can only wonder what Mary King and her neighbours would make of carving faces into pumpkins and simply discarding the remains.”

There are so many delicious ways to make the most of your pumpkins once the Halloween party ends. Love Food Hate Waste has some delicious pumpkin recipe suggestions to try, including: