England
Recycle at home
Yes. Put it in your food waste caddy.
Councils must now collect food waste weekly; if yours hasn't started yet, use general waste.
Also: General waste
England-wide guidance, checked 26 Sep 2026. View the source
Pumpkin (carved or whole)
Also called: pumpkin, carved pumpkin, halloween pumpkin, jack o lantern, jack-o-lantern, jack o'lantern
Recycle at home
National rules. Choose your council to see its answer.
Your council's answer
The answer can differ by council. Choose your council to see its rules for this item.
How to prepare it
- Take out the candle, tealight and any wax first: wax and tealight cases must not go in food waste
- Scrape off paint, glitter, stickers and plastic decorations: only the bare pumpkin goes in food waste
- Cut it up and put it in your food caddy
- Bare pumpkin can also go on the compost heap: chop it up so it rots faster
- Uncarved pumpkin and the scooped-out flesh are good to cook with: roast the seeds
Where to take it
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National rules
The answer isn't the same in every UK nation. Choose your council to see the one that applies to you.
Scotland
Recycle at home
Yes. Put it in your food waste caddy.
Use your food caddy if your council collects food waste; some rural areas have no collection, so use general waste or compost at home.
Also: General waste
Scotland-wide guidance, checked 27 Sep 2026. View the source
Wales
Recycle at home
Yes. Put it in your food waste caddy.
Welsh councils collect food waste every week in a food caddy, so never put food in your general waste.
Wales-wide guidance, checked 27 Sep 2026. View the source
Northern Ireland
Recycle at home
Yes. Put it in your food waste caddy.
Food goes in your brown bin or food caddy, never the black bin; most NI homes use one brown bin for food and garden waste together.
Northern Ireland-wide guidance, checked 27 Sep 2026. View the source
Rules in the rest of the UK
England
Recycle at home
Yes. Put it in your food waste caddy.
Councils must now collect food waste weekly; if yours hasn't started yet, use general waste.
Also: General waste
England-wide guidance, checked 26 Sep 2026. View the source
Scotland
Recycle at home
Yes. Put it in your food waste caddy.
Use your food caddy if your council collects food waste; some rural areas have no collection, so use general waste or compost at home.
Also: General waste
Scotland-wide guidance, checked 27 Sep 2026. View the source
Wales
Recycle at home
Yes. Put it in your food waste caddy.
Welsh councils collect food waste every week in a food caddy, so never put food in your general waste.
Wales-wide guidance, checked 27 Sep 2026. View the source
Northern Ireland
Recycle at home
Yes. Put it in your food waste caddy.
Food goes in your brown bin or food caddy, never the black bin; most NI homes use one brown bin for food and garden waste together.
Northern Ireland-wide guidance, checked 27 Sep 2026. View the source
Recycle This isn't run by or endorsed by any council or the government. Councils change their services, so check anything important with your council.