Now that it’s almost Halloween, our Compost Crew team is gearing up for a few weeks of heavy compost buckets full of pumpkin scraps!
If you’re planning on carving a pumpkin or making a fresh pumpkin pie this season, don’t let the pumpkin go to waste when you’re done with it. In the United States alone, more than one billion pounds of pumpkins are landfilled each year. But this isn’t the only way! Luckily, those same pumpkin scraps can be diverted into our compost facilities and transformed into nutrient-dense soil amendment instead.
Even though composting pumpkin scraps is a good option that prevents that waste from a fate in a landfill, it’s even better to use as much of the pumpkin as possible before composting. We’ve brainstormed a few creative ways to use your pumpkins to cut down on some of the waste associated with our favorite Autumnal decor.
1. Soup
As we embrace the fall season, it’s hard to find a more seasonally appropriate meal than a warm bowl of pumpkin soup. You can find countless soup recipes on the internet that call for canned pumpkin, but if you’re already utilizing a pumpkin in your fall decor, why not harvest the innards and make it from scratch? Here’s an easy recipe if you’re thinking of doing just that.
2. Puree and Baked goods
Baked goods are, arguably, the easiest way to use up fruits and veggies that you might not otherwise get around to using before they spoil. Luckily, pumpkins fit perfectly into a wide variety of baked goods. The key is transforming your pumpkin scraps into pumpkin puree. Once that process is complete, the options are practically limitless! Some of our favorite baked pumpkin recipes include: pumpkin cinnamon rolls, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and, of course, pumpkin pie.
3. Roasted seeds
Roasting pumpkin seeds couldn’t be easier, and is also an ultra healthy and delicious snack. You can even blend them up into your smoothies! Seeds are probably the first element of the pumpkin to be tossed in the trash or compost pile, but they’re also an extremely easy element to upcycle! Among other benefits, one ounce of pumpkin seeds provide 7 grams of protein, are high in antioxidants, and have been linked to preventing certain forms of cancer. If you want to try this out for yourself, here’s our favorite recipe.
4. Dog treats
If everyone in your household is enjoying pumpkin-forward recipes this season, don’t leave out your furry friends! Making treats for your pets is a great way to preserve the fresh pumpkin-goodness for even longer to help reduce the amount of scraps you need to fit into your Compost Crew bin. We found this recipe that looks pretty good.
We all love using pumpkins as decorations in the fall season, but it’s important to get more use out of your iconic gourd. Before your pumpkin scraps make their way into your compost bin, be sure to give one of these ideas a try!
By: Sara Mack, Marketing Manager
