BUFFALO, N.Y. — Halloween is on Thursday, October 31 and many people may be prepping their porches with pumpkins for the spookiest night of the year.
But what should people do with their pumpkins after Halloween passes?
Instead of throwing pumpkins into the garbage, NOCO Forestry is encouraging people to help turn them into regenerative compost.
“Once Halloween is over, thousands of tons of rotting pumpkins are thrown into the trash where they do not break down naturally and emit harmful greenhouse gases,” said Brian Murphy, director, NOCO Forestry. “By conducting this drop-off initiative over the past two years, area residents have helped to divert 43.5 tons of leftover pumpkins and gourds from landfills, where instead they have been turned into compost and put back into the local soil.”
There will be multiple sites throughout Erie County where people can drop off their pumpkins following the holiday. Those sites include:
- Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, 2655 South Park Ave., Buffalo
- The English Gardener, 4000 Harlem Road, Snyder
- Erie County Compost Site, 11581 Walden Ave., Alden (this site only is also open Nov. 8 – 10)
- Groundwork Market Garden, 1698 Genesee St., Buffalo
- Lavocat’s Family Greenhouse and Nursey, 8411 County Road, East Amherst
- Providence Farm Collective, 5701 Burton Road, Orchard Park
- Tripi’s Landscaping, 3812 South Park Ave., Blasdell
Drop-offs can happen between Friday, November 1 to Sunday, November 3 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. at any of the sites listed above.
The Town of Amherst will also be hosting a pumpkin drop off on Saturday, November 2 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the Highway Department located at 130 N. Forest Road and the Village of Williamsville behind the Village Hall located at 5565 Main Street.
According to NOCO Forestry "Pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns, and gourds, including those that may already be decaying or rotting, will be accepted at all drop-off locations. Pumpkins should not be bleached or painted, and have candles or lanterns removed. No corn stalks or hay bales will be accepted. Again, this year NOCO Forestry, Erie County, and Farmers Pirates Compost will be actively composting the pumpkins collected from the community."
To learn more visit noco.com/blog/pumpkin-drop-off
