With Halloween coming around the corner, you’re probably getting excited about decorating, making plans with friends, and stocking up on candy… I know I am!  However, as we go into another holiday of mass consumerism, it’s crucial to consider how we can make our actions more sustainable. 

One of the most favored Halloween activities is pumpkin carving. Pumpkin carving is fun and overall, not harmful to the environment. However, when pumpkins are simply disposed of in the garbage, they wind up in a landfill, where, like other organic waste, release harmful methane gas into the atmosphere; methane captures 25 times more heat than carbon dioxide, contributing heavily to global warming.

Composting offers a solution! Composting pumpkins allows for beneficial reuse of organic material being recycled back to the earth, without releasing harmful gases. In Park City, we have great resources for compost disposal, including dropping off your pumpkins at Recycle Utah after Halloween to be composted at Spoil to Soil.

Out of the millions of pumpkins purchased in the U.S. every October, how many will end up in landfills? Composting your pumpkins helps significantly with this problem, and here in Park City, it’s easy and accessible. Additionally, pumpkins are in fact edible! Try saving more of your pumpkin by harvesting the seeds, making pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie, and so much more.

By Grayson Rae, Sophomore at Park City High School