Give Jack-O’-Lanterns a New Life
01 November 2011
After showing off the orange and black, Jack can go green after Halloween. Residents in single-family homes can turn jack-o’-lanterns into nutrient rich soil by adding them to Green Cans or compost bins with other food scraps and fall leaves. When placing Jack in your Green Can, please note the weight of each Green Can cannot exceed 20 kilograms or 44 pounds. The maximum Green Can size is 80 litres. There’s a variety of other ways “Jack” can be used after October 31.
Have Jack for dinner
Depending on conditions, Jack can be salvaged for a post-Halloween feast within the first 24 to 48 hours of carving. Pumpkins are not only edible, they’re healthy—full of lutein and alpha- and beta-carotene (all are antioxidants). So, rather than tossing the seeds and meat when carving, find some delicious recipes and serve Jack at your next dinner party. Simply puree the pumpkin and freeze it for another day’s baking or cooking.
Put Jack in the box (composter box that is)
Worms like Jack. In fact, whether finely chopped and mixed with yard trimmings in a backyard composter or in a porch/balcony vermicompost bin, the worms will help create a nutrient-rich compost that can be used to grow Jack for next year.
Return Jack to his roots
Dig a shallow trench in the vegetable or flower garden, disperse shredded pieces of Jack throughout and back fill. This diverts beneficial solid waste from the landfill.
Pumpkin Trivia
- Pumpkins are 90 per cent water.
- Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites.
- The name pumpkin originated from "pepon" – the Greek word for "large melon."
- Pumpkins have been grown in North America for five thousand years.
For more information on recycling and composting, please visit www.richmond.ca/recycle or call the Environmental Programs Information Line at 604 276-4010.
