Another year, another successful EEC Pumpkin Smash! Families with young children, couples, and friends shared big smiles on November 4th. Community members drove through to drop off pumpkins to be smashed into a commercial compost bin. Thanks to the Chicago Fire Department, Pumpkin Smash participants and volunteers were able to gather to diverge the 1 billion pounds of Halloween pumpkins that go into landfills yearly (Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy).
All together, a total of 26.51 tons were collected, which is equivalent to 53,025 pounds of pumpkins! The Edgewater Environmental Coalition collected roughly 20% to compost - 5.29 Tons of the 26.51 tons, which equivocates to 10580 pounds! Attendees were also introduced to Chicago's New Food Scrap Drop-Off Program.
For more information on the Food Scrap Drop-Off Program, visit www.ChicagoRecycles.org "to register for the program and learn how it works." To see this year's pictures of the annual EEC Pumpkin Smash, visit our Instagram page. See you next year!