The use of various organic substances to provide biogas has been novel and innovative. But there is not the ghost of a chance most people would have imagined green energy being produced from leftover Halloween pumpkins.
That, however, is the big plan at Severn Trent Power, which aims to produce biogas from 100,000 leftover pumpkins, Energy Live News reports.
It plans to collect them from council recycling services and put them in big tanks at various sites across the Midlands and south of England, plus South Wales, converting the familiar seasonal orange vegetables into something novel and green.
Calling for members of the public to recycle their pumpkins so that they can go into the anaerobic digestion process, Operations director at Severn Trent Green Power Andrew Simm said: “We’d encourage everyone to recycle their unwanted pumpkins to prevent them from going to a less sustainable disposal fate.”
He added: “Don’t forget to check with your local council to find out what its arrangements
are for collecting leftover pumpkins as sometimes they’re picked up alongside your food waste caddy.”
The idea that the greenest thing on Halloween won’t be a spectre resembling Slimer from Ghostbusters or Grotbags the witch might be novel, but it offers a seasonal reminder of how common traditions can still generate opportunities to put waste to good use. This will be equally applicable to the other food waste produced through the rest of the year.
However, the amount of waste produced by the use of pumpkins as Halloween decorations instead of food is huge. Cotswold Council has noted that an estimated 30.4 million are bought for October 31st every year and has called on residents to help cut waste by using them for food or for recycling.
The anaerobic digestion potential they offer could make the recycling option a more useful one than some might expect.
