Halloween is around the corner. By now you probably have decorated your front stoop with pumpkins or carved a few to light up the night.
After the witching hour, give your pumpkins a second life. Instead of throwing them in the trashcan, consider these other possibilities for two reasons: 1) pumpkins are still useful to us and wildlife; and 2) pumpkins in landfills are not good for the environment. In this country, more than two billion pounds of pumpkins rot in landfills, which produce methane, a “greenhouse” gas. Methane can trap heat contributing to climate change or global warming. In fact, methane is twenty times more detrimental to the environment than carbon dioxide.
Call your local farm or ask the vendors at farmers markets to see if they accept “used” pumpkins to feed their animals. Look up Pumpkins for Pigs, a Virginia-based non-profit organization, that helps funnel pumpkins to animals by maintaining a database of farms across the country.
See if there are pumpkin-related events such as a pumpkin smash. Sometimes large nurseries or farms will have family friendly events where you can catapult pumpkins or throw them down and smash them up. What a great stress reliever!
Compost your pumpkin after removing the candles and decorations. If you do not have a compost pile, contact local compost companies (often they have tables at farmers markets). Or break up the squash and leave pieces outside for local wildlife.
If your pumpkin is intact, eat it! Cut it up and make pumpkin soup, puree, or bread or roast the seeds. Or don’t cut it and make a centerpiece by gluing with a hot glue gun small succulents, moss, and dried flowers on the top.
If you can think of any more ideas, please put them in the comment section.
