Save your pumpkin from the landfill and compost with SIU and U of I
Pumpkins on display at the Great Pumpkin Patch in Arthur, Illinois. Illinois Public Media
More than one billion pounds of pumpkins are grown in America every year, and after they’ve been used for all the Halloween decorations, millions end up in landfills. Southern Illinois University is hosting the first Pumpkin Smash event in Southern Illinois. They are partnering with the Jackson County Health Department and Green Earth Inc to compost the communities pumpkins. And the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is also hosting pumpkin smashes this November, partnering with an an Illinois environmental non-profit called the School & Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education (SCARCE).
GUESTS:
Kay McKeen
SCARCE Founder & Executive Director
Angie Kuehl
Recycling Coordinator, at Jackson Co. Health Dept.
Aimee Lemrise
Director of Sustainability for SIU