Cut down on your carving footprint

The centrepiece of most Halloween parties is the humble pumpkin, and local supermarkets start piling up the gigantic orange gourds from mid-October. To keep your pumpkin green as well as orange, get it from a local farm instead. You could even turn your pumpkin-hunt into a seasonal day out by visiting a farm with a pumpkin patch where you can pick your own pumpkin – which both supports local farmers and gives you the opportunity to get that perfect autumnal photo.

When it comes to carving your carefully-selected pumpkin, be mindful of wastage. According to the Guardian, more than half of pumpkin-buyers throw away the flesh after carving it out of the middle and around 8 million pumpkins ended up in the bin after Halloween last year. Repurpose your pumpkin flesh into a seasonal recipe like pumpkin pie or pumpkin soup (we love this recipe from Jamie Oliver), and you can dry out and roast the seeds to create a deliciously nutty topping to any soup or salad for the weeks to come. Finally, when Halloween is over, put your pumpkin into the compost and not the bin.

Here’s how to make sure your Halloween celebrations don’t harm the planet