There are plenty of innovative hacks to grow pumpkins, but now there are tips on how to dispose of them, too.
Over one billion pounds of pumpkins are thrown away each year when, instead, they could be helping your gardens and yards to thrive.
The scoop
Sabrina Pare (@sabrina.sustainable.life) is the executive director of EcoTok Collective (@ecotokcollective) and uses her page to educate Instagrammers on sustainability and convenient, eco-friendly hacks.
One of her videos shows a host of ways to get rid of your rotting pumpkins, and all of them will help you or your local ecosystem out.
To start, Sabrina has users remove anything added to the pumpkins for decoration — which shouldn't be difficult — mentioning that decorations applied with super glue slip off easily. Afterward, she says to chop up your pumpkin — the pieces don't need to be too small.
"It's nice because I think this part is the lowest effort," Sabrina says.
Then, you can bury it in your garden, "The flesh is full of water and nutrients, which will be so great for [your] garden's soil and will decompose into organic, rich matter," she explains. Alternatively, you can toss it into your yard or the woods, where it will decompose or provide a meal for small animals.
You could also compost the pumpkins in your personal compost bins or in city bins, or you can take them to local animal sanctuaries and zoos for the animals to eat.
"Getting rid of your pumpkin in a sustainable way is so easy," Sabrina urges in the video.
How it's helping
These are not only incredibly simple ways to dispose of your pumpkins, but they'll actually do you some good, too, as having a healthy garden will give you motivation to get your rotting pumpkins off the porch before they turn into a pile of mush.
On top of that, 1.9 billion pounds of pumpkins are grown in the United States each year, and 1.3 billion pounds of those pumpkins typically end up in landfills.
Pumpkins can biodegrade, and they do so well in a garden. However, they will not break down as easily in a landfill and will release toxic, planet-warming gases into the atmosphere in the process.
What everyone's saying
Some comments on the post were unaware of the hack. "I didn't know [this]" wrote one user.
Others had tested it out and were happy to see positive results — and even offered their own advice. "Check in with your local chicken farmers! My chickens love to chow down on pumpkin," wrote one user.
"Tossed mine in the woods. Saw lots of critters having a snack," said another.
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