How to prevent pumpkin pollution after Halloween, tricks and treats

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Halloween comes with plenty of pumpkins on porches and pathways, but what should you do with them after the holiday to prevent pollution?

First, let’s explain how pumpkins produce pollution and add to climate change. An average large pumpkin weighs about 10-15lbs. Most households have about 3-5 pumpkins on their porches. This adds up pretty quickly when put in landfills.

Let’s use an example of 100lbs, which is about 10 pumpkins or 3 households. This amount in a landfill creates around 8lbs of methane, which is a greenhouse gas, trapping heat in the atmosphere and causing climate change. Also, methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide for causing climate change.

Keep in mind, when you carve pumpkins, you can save the scraps! Don’t forget, pumpkin is also food. You can cook and eat the pumpkin seeds, use the pumpkin guts to make puree for baked goods, and cook the scraps into a soup.

After Halloween, don’t throw your pumpkin in the trash! Without oxygen in trash bags and landfills, bacteria eats the pumpkins and burps out methane gas, which adds to climate change.

Pumpkins are great for the garden soil! When you cut them up and bury them in your garden, they release nutrients like nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus which improves soil structure to retain water and nutrients, and helps plants grow. Or you can send your pumpkins to compost locations including OCRRA’s Amboy and Jamesville sites between November 1st through the 23rd.

Hope you have a safe and happy Halloween!