Severn Trent Green Power to transform 100,000 pumpkins into renewable energy this Halloween

This Halloween, we expect around 100,000 used pumpkins to arrive at our 10 food waste anaerobic digestion facilities across the Midlands, Home Counties, South Wales and South West, where they will be turned into clean energy.

Severn Trent Green Power to transform 100,000 pumpkins into renewable energy this Halloween

Green Power estimates that it will make around 77 megawatt hours of spook-tacular clean energy from the leftover pumpkins, enough to power more than 10,000 homes for a whole day.

In addition to encouraging everyone to recycle their pumpkins, this year, Green Power also wants to share an important message about how individuals can play a part in creating a circular economy and a cleaner future for all in a new video that charts the lifecycle of a pumpkin.

The video follows Patch the Pumpkin as he begins life as a seed in a garden, grows into a full-sized pumpkin and transforms into a happy jack-o'-lantern to join in the festivities, before being discarded and left to be picked up by a food waste collection vehicle.

As Patch arrives at one of Green Power’s food waste AD facilities waiting to find out his fate, he’s tipped into the bunker and is overjoyed when he realises he will be recycled into clean energy that powers many homes across the country, as well as creating digestate which farmers can use as an organic fertiliser to grow more food that will end up back on our tables.

Click to watch our video:


Andrew Simm, Operations Director at Severn Trent Green Power, said: “We hope viewers enjoy watching Patch the Pumpkin’s journey as his adventures unfold and he returns to life as renewable energy. Food waste is a fundamentally important energy source as the UK commits to generating 100% clean power by 2030.

“We’d encourage everyone to recycle their unwanted pumpkins to prevent them from going to a less sustainable disposal fate. 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.”

A recent research report by WRAP* has found that while most households who separate their food waste ‘trust that their food waste is not going to the landfill, there is a lack of clarity around what actually happens to the food waste collected’. Through this new video, Green Power hopes to raise awareness of what happens to the food waste collected in kitchen caddies and highlight the role that everyone can play in creating a more sustainable community.

Andrew continued: “We would always encourage everyone to follow the waste hierarchy and aim to reduce and reuse where they can. However, some food waste, like Halloween pumpkins in this case or potato peelings and chicken bones, are unavoidable. At Green Power, we take these and turn them into something good and useful through the anaerobic digestion process.

“So every time you dispose of food waste into your kitchen caddy, you are playing a part in generating sustainable homegrown energy, helping to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and contributing to a circular economy. We hope our video will encourage more positive attitude and behaviour when it comes to dealing with unavoidable food waste.”

There’s no witchcraft when it comes to AD. The process mimics that of a giant stomach. Food waste is tipped at our sites, before being macerated and added to liquid. Contaminants are removed. The liquefied food is contained in digesters for around three months. Meanwhile, we capture the biogas it emits and turn this into biomethane, resulting in clean, renewable energy for the grid. The remaining ‘digestate’ is pasteurised and filtered, before heading to farmland to help grow new crops – effectively using food waste to grow a new generation of food.

Food waste recycling in England will soon become the norm. Currently, around 50% of local authorities offer food waste collection services for households, but more and more are introducing separate food waste collection ahead of a Government mandate coming into effect in March 2026. Green Power is optimistic that public awareness of the benefits of recycling food waste will continue to grow, paving the way for a greener future for all.

Did you know these frightening food facts?

  • An estimated 10.7 million tonnes of food is thrown away in the UK every year, with households making up 60% of the total**
  • 18,000 tonnes of edible pumpkins are thrown away each year in the UK - that’s the same weight as 1,500 double decker buses***
  • 30 million pumpkins are expected to be bought for carving in the UK, of which 16 million won’t be eaten****
  • According to a UN study, if global food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases*****
  • Tackling the mountain of food waste in the UK could contribute to lowering our national greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 5%


Sources:

*WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme), July 2024

**WRAP, November 2023

***BBC, October 2024

****Hubbub, October 2023

***** Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2007


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