Please, no rotten pumpkins. Last year volunteers from the Green Team and community organizations and businesses traveled the streets of Thurmont collecting between 600-700 pumpkins, saving them from the landfill and providing food and fun for the animals at the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and area farms.

Households are no longer displaying just one or two pumpkins on their porch - many now decorate with up to ten pumpkins of varying colors and sizes. Each year more than one billion pounds of pumpkins are thrown away in the United States making their way to landfills where they take a long time to decompose, emitting methane which is 80% more potent or powerful than carbon dioxide, and is ultimately linked to climate change. The EPA reports that food waste contributes to 22% of landfill waste. Organic waste, including pumpkins which are 90% water, does not properly break down in oxygen deprived landfills. Pumpkin waste is great for our soil, but not for our landfills.

If you do not live within the Thurmont town limits, please think about starting a pumpkin pick up for your town or at the very least find a way to compost your pumpkin and other food waste or drop your pumpkin off at the bin in front of the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve. The animals and the earth will thank you.

This year’s event hopes to top 1,000 pumpkins so make sure to save your pumpkins from the trash and place them on the curb on the 25th. Remember, No Pumpkin Left Behind! We’ll publish the results of this year’s pick up in the December edition.

If you would like to volunteer or receive more information about organizing a Pumpkin Pick Up for your town, please contact the Town of Thurmont at 301-271-7313.