If one-quarter of the households in Metro Vancouver carve a Halloween pumpkin this year, that's about 200,000 jack-o-lanterns.
That means 1,000 metric tonnes of shrivelled pumpkins.
According to a Metro Vancouver press release, pumpkins tossed in the trash will end up rotting in the dump. There, they'll generate methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that causes global warming. And two thirds of the methane in the Metro Vancouver region comes from the region's landfills.
Keeping all those pumpkins out of the dump eliminates about 500 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, so it's worth the effort. Metro Van offers the following green tips for dealing with the orange gourds:
Chop up your pumpkin and put it in your backyard composter or your kitchen or balcony worm composter. The worms will get to work, providing nutrient-rich compost that you can use to grow next year's pumpkin.
Dig a shallow trench in your vegetable or flower garden and drop in shredded pumpkin chunks. Fill in the trench knowing that the nutrients will nourish the ground and act as an excellent, natural fertilizer.
If you live in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam or Port Moody, you can add your pumpkin in your yard trimmings container for regular curbside pickup.
For tips on how to compost, visit your municipal website or www.metrovancouver.org (check out the "Food Recycling/ Composting" pages or, for a direct link, go to http://bitly.com/MVFood).
As well, a video story titled "Why Compost?" is posted at http://bcove.me/kcqbopx6 and another, "Pumpkin Smashers," is posted at http://bcove.me/j132bu1s.
