What to do with Jack in Burnaby?
Well, don’t just trash it, says the City of Burnaby.
‘Jack’ is a Jack-O'-Lantern, a carved pumpkin. He’s great fun on October 31, but by November 1, he needs to move on.
About 200,000 Jacks are carved in the Lower Mainland each Halloween, and all too often on November 1, Jack is bagged, tossed and carted off to the landfill. Reduce waste, here’s what you can do with your retired Jack-O'-Lantern pumpkins:
Eat it
Pumpkins are edible, tasty and good for you since they are high in fibre and antioxidants. Keep the pulp and check out delicious pumpkin recipes online. Pumpkin seeds are nutritious for a snack or salad. Pumpkin puree is fast and easy to make and freeze for another day. Check out Metro Vancouver's Love Food/Hate Waste for recipe ideas!
Compost it
Worms like pumpkins. Whether your pumpkin is chopped up and mixed with yard trimmings for the backyard composter or put in your kitchen based worm composter, the worms will thank you. And in return you’ll get nutrient-rich compost that you can use to grow next year’s pumpkin.
Bring it to the curb
Burnaby’s Green Bin (Yard Waste + Food Scraps) Recycling Program accepts whole pumpkins and pumpkin scraps. Re-use the newspaper from the carving station to wrap the pumpkin scraps before placing in the green bin. Once you are fully done with Jack, remove the candle and any other non-organic objects, and simply place Jack in your green bin.
