Halloween is over, the candles have burned down and the porch is lined with slowly softening pumpkins. It is tempting to bag them up with the trash, but pumpkins are food, and food in a landfill breaks down without much oxygen, which can produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
The good news is that pumpkins are one of the easiest things to keep out of the bin. Here are eight greener ways to give yours a second life.
1. Compost it
Pumpkins are perfect compost material. They are mostly water and break down quickly. Before you add one to a compost bin or pile:
- Remove candles, wax, glitter, paint, stickers and any plastic decorations.
- Scoop out the seeds if you do not want pumpkin seedlings sprouting next spring.
- Smash or chop the pumpkin into smaller pieces so it breaks down faster.
- Mix it with dry “brown” materials such as fallen leaves or shredded cardboard to balance the moisture.
2. Bury it in the garden
No compost bin? Dig a hole in a garden bed, chop the pumpkin into chunks, drop it in and cover it with soil. It will break down over the winter and add organic matter to the soil for next year’s plants. This method is sometimes called trench composting.
3. Check for a community pumpkin collection
Many towns, community gardens and farms run post-Halloween pumpkin collections or “pumpkin smash” events that send pumpkins to compost. Check your local council, city website or community groups for drop-off points in early November.
4. Cook the ones you didn’t carve
Uncarved decorative pumpkins that are still firm and fresh can often be cooked. Roast chunks for soups, curries or purée. Carved jack-o’-lanterns that have sat outside with candles are a different story: they can grow mold and collect dirt, so it is safest to compost them instead of eating them.
5. Roast the seeds
If you saved seeds when carving, rinse them, dry them, toss them with a little oil and your favourite seasoning, then roast them until golden. They make a crunchy snack and turn a would-be scrap into something tasty.
6. Save seeds for next year
Want to grow your own pumpkins? Rinse and dry a handful of seeds thoroughly and store them in a paper envelope in a cool, dry place. Keep in mind that pumpkins cross-pollinate easily, so plants grown from saved seeds may not look exactly like their parent.
7. Think twice before leaving pumpkins out for wildlife
Some people leave old pumpkins in the yard for animals. Wildlife organisations have cautioned that this is not always a good idea: rotting or painted pumpkins can be unhealthy for animals, and large amounts of food can draw wildlife into yards and roads. If you want to support local wildlife, composting is the more reliable choice.
8. Plan a lower-waste Halloween next year
The greenest pumpkin is one you fully use. Next year, consider buying a smaller number, choosing local pumpkins from a nearby farm, decorating uncarved pumpkins so they last longer and can be cooked afterward, or using natural decorations such as leaves and gourds.
A quick note on decorated pumpkins
Pumpkins covered in paint, glitter, varnish or plastic should not go in the compost, since those materials do not break down. Check your local guidance on how to dispose of them, and next year consider decorations you can remove easily.
The takeaway
Pumpkins are one of the simplest wins in green living. Compost them, bury them, drop them at a community collection or cook the fresh ones, and you will turn a seasonal decoration into food for the soil or for your table. It is a small habit, and it keeps a lot of food out of the trash every November.
Image: Cucurbita 2011 G1 by George Chernilevsky via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain Mark 1.0
