It’s the week after Halloween, and for some people that means finishing off the rest of their Halloween candy, putting up Thanksgiving decor, or — for some crazy people — listening to Christmas music. One of the longest standing Halloween traditions is pumpkin carving, and for good reason: it’s something fun and creative you can do with friends and family, and you get to put them out as decorations when you’re done! But come November 1st, what do you do? By now, your pumpkins are close to rotting, and you’re ready for the Thanksgiving season. So, where do our pumpkins go?
Well, it turns out that out “of the nearly 2 billion pounds of pumpkin grown in the United States in 2014, an estimated 1.3 billion pounds were simply trashed” (sciencealert.com). One point three BILLION pounds!!! This number is so big that it’s hard to visualize, so here are some comparisons. One point three billion pounds of pumpkins equals a little over eight Washington Monuments of pumpkins in our landfills. That’s almost 12.5 Titanics of pumpkins. In terms of elephants, that’s 86,666 male elephants worth of pumpkins in our landfills.
If these massive numbers don’t disturb you on their own, it’s also been discovered that once pumpkins decompose, they contribute to climate change by releasing methane. Clearly, something needs to change. So, what can you do instead of contributing to the thousands of elephants worth of pumpkins in our landfills? Lots of things! Here are a few:
- Eat the seeds! You may be thinking that seeds only contribute to a fraction of the waste, but every pound matters!! It’s okay to start small! Some of my favorite post-Halloween memories are of eating pumpkin seeds that my m
om baked in the oven. There are so many delicious, easy recipes for pumpkin seeds. Feeling savory? Try this awesome recipe that involves Worcestershire sauce. Feeling sweet? Try this mouth-watering recipe that uses cinnamon and sugar. If you want something simpler, just sprinkle some salt on them, and throw them in the oven, just like my mom used to!
- Exfoliate your skin! Pumpkins are great for your skin, and there are lots of ways you can incorporate the fall vegetable into your skincare routine. Try one of these five DIY pumpkin based skin care products to reuse your pumpkin and have your own at-home-spa! If a recipe calls for pumpkin puree, there’s your opportunity to turn your old pumpkin into something new!
- Compost! If you’re not into eating your pumpkin or putting it on y
our skin, get rid of it and give back to the earth it came from. By composting your pumpkin instead of simply throwing it in the garbage, “the biomass can be recycled for nutrients, instead of traveling straight to landfill” (sciencealert.com).
One reason many people shy away from sustainable living is because they are under this daunting impression that they have to change their entire lifestyle in order to make an impact. But that’s not true: simple changes like recycling your pumpkins after Halloween can make a real difference! So when you’re getting ready for the coming holiday seasons, be intentional with what you do with those pumpkins on your front porch that served you so well for Fall. And encourage your neighbors to do the same!
Sources:
https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/millions-of-pumpkins-are-wasted-during-halloween/
https://www.sciencealert.com/an-astonishing-number-of-pumpkins-are-wasted-for-halloween-each-year
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/239621/cinnamon-toast-pumpkin-seeds/
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/55091/savory-toasted-pumpkin-seeds/
https://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/how-to-use-pumpkin-on-your-skin/
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-derbyshire-54725980
https://www.scarce.org/pumpkins/