At the second annual Pumpkin Drop organised by Compost Winnipeg, Winnipeggers recycled their jack-o-lanterns once more.
On Saturday, a crowd gathered at the top of the Polo Park parking structure to throw their gourds into the waiting dump trucks.
The event from the previous year prevented 24,000 kg, or 10% of all the pumpkins grown in Manitoba, from going to the landfill, where they would have produced dangerous methane gas.
According to Karrie Blackburn of Compost Winnipeg, “Since 2018, we’ve spent over $11 million into Brady Landfill to suction out that methane.”
In order to further limit food waste this year, undamaged pumpkins are set aside to be consumed rather than just composted.
There are now additional drop-off places throughout the city thanks to Compost Winnipeg, but only Polo Park has the two-story plunge.
The event comes just as the City’s two-year Residential Food Waste Collection Pilot Project came to a close.
In the spring, the final report is expected.
According to Blackburn, up to 40% of household garbage is made up of organic stuff.
We’re three to five years away from having citywide compost collection for single-family homes, but multi-family housing has a lot of potential, she added.
“Organic garbage is present in all of these locations, including condos, apartments, as well as companies, restaurants, and hotels. We could be collecting this material to keep it out of landfills.”
A local nonprofit organization’s organic trash collection would benefit from the donations that were also gathered at the event, according to Blackburn.
— Using documents from Iris Dyck of Global.
Halloween gourds are recycled in Winnipeg at the second annual pumpkin drop.
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