15/10/2026
This just popped up on one of our volunteers feeds
It is that time of year again when supermarkets are full of pumpkins and social media is again flooded with ‘well meaning’ suggestions to take unwanted pumpkins to the local woods or park, or to put them out in the garden for wildlife.
I would however urge you to please NOT dump pumpkins in local woods or park. When I have posted this in the past I have received many comments that this does not happen. Well, I can assure you it does – this photo shows some of the pumpkins dumped on Chipstead Downs.
Firstly, you have no right to dump your waste food on land owned by someone else (even common land is owned and managed by local authorities). At the very least have the courtesy to get the agreement of the landowner first, without which you are effectively fly-tipping.
Autumn is the season of nature's bounty – the countryside is full of seeds, nuts, berries and fungi - and this year has been a particularly bumper year. The wildlife does not need your pumpkins. Pumpkins are not native to this country and do not grow wild here, so none of our wildlife has evolved a dependence upon them.
In fact, far from helping wildlife, it can make some, such as our declining hedgehogs, ill if they eat it! (which could be fatal so close to hibernation when condition, bodyweight and fat reserves are crucial to survival). From discussions I’ve had it seems that it can also cause colic in horses. Additionally, large pieces can present a choke hazard to all animals.
On the theme of wildlife, dumped food attracts rats. If you wish to risk attracting rats into your own garden that is obviously entirely up to you, although it might not impress the neighbours.
The additional nutrients carried by pumpkins and other forms of organic waste can alter soil nutrient levels and have a detrimental impact upon the flora, especially those that have evolved to thrive upon nutrient-poor soil (such as many of the chalk grassland wildflowers).
In my experience of nearly 2 decades volunteering in the countryside, pumpkins are rarely touched by wildlife (further proving that none of our wildlife depends upon them). Instead, they are left to rot, creating a horrible soggy, stinking mess for someone else to clear up. But, as with all littering, I doubt those who dump them really care that someone else has to do this horrid job.
An estimated 18,000 tonnes of pumpkins gets thrown away at Halloween - about the weight of 1,500 double decker buses! Just think about that. What a disgraceful waste of food at a time when we are in a cost of living crisis and an ever-increasing number of people are reliant upon foodbanks to feed their families.
If you must waste food, then why not contact a local wildlife/pet rescue centre to see if they can make use of your pumpkins. And if they can’t, put them in your compost bin or out with your food waste. But DO NOT just dump them on someone else’s land in the mistaken belief that you are somehow doing your bit for the local wildlife.
Please feel free to share to help put an end to this nonsense advice 👍
