What to do with your Halloween pumpkins after the holiday is over. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Every year, thousands of pumpkins get tossed in the trash – adding up to about 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins ending up in landfills. That’s according to the U.S. Department of Energy. But there are plenty of ways to recycle your Halloween pumpkins.
One way is to eat them. Whether its toasting the pumpkin seeds or using your un-carved pumpkin for some tasty pie or other savory recipes. Or, donate leftover pumpkins to zoos, animal shelters, farms, or community gardens. They’ll be grateful for the compost material or animal snacks.
You can turn your carved pumpkin into a bird feeder. Just cut a pumpkin in half horizontally, empty the cavity, and fill it with birdseed. Either leave it out as is or hang it from a tree Birds will love the pumpkin seeds, too.
Your old Halloween pumpkin also makes the perfect snack for neighborhood wildlife, which you may have already noticed, especially if you have resident squirrels.
Listen to Cathy Isom’s This Land of Ours program here.