Copyright Chicago Tribune
Halloween is now a week in the past, while uncarved pumpkins and jack-o’-lanterns remain in homes or on front porches around Lake County. For those seeking an ecologically friendly way of disposal, the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County (SWALCO) is offering an option. Walter Willis, SWALCO’s Executive Director, said the agency has six remaining Pumpkin Smash events planned throughout the county where people can smash their pumpkins. The remains will then be taken to be mulched into compost so they can be used to help other plants grow. “This is a way to keep food scraps and other vegetables from going to landfills,” Willis said. “It reduces greenhouse gases and is good for the environment. Kids can have fun while they do it.” SWALCO is holding five Pumpkin Smashes on Saturday at locations throughout Lake County, and one more on Nov. 15, giving people an opportunity to dispose of their pumpkins and benefit the environment. For those bringing carved pumpkins, he said there should be no combustible items such as candles left inside. Decorations attached to the pumpkins must be removed. When people arrive, there will be a large container where the smashing happens. “The kids can throw it in the container,” Willis said. “Some kids run up a little bit, and then they throw it.” Last year, Willis said more than 164 tons — 326,000 lb. — worth of pumpkins were composted, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 118,46 tons of carbon dioxide. The effort diverted more than 356,419 gallons of water from landfills. SWALCO gets help for the events from LRS, a familiar waste hauler in Lake County. Joy Riofkin, LRS’s director of sustainability, said the company provides the large containers into which people hurl their pumpkins. “We roll them off the Dumpsters and collect the smashed pumpkins,” Rifkin said. “We take them to one of our composting partners. It prevents greenhouse gas emissions and prevents them from going to a landfill.” For people in communities where LRS provides composting bins, Rifkin said residents can deposit the pumpkins into the receptacle with other food scraps and yard waste. People will be able to smash their pumpkins between 9 a.m. and noon Saturday at the College of Lake County’s Grayslake campus, the Grayslake Area Public Library parking lot and the North Park in Lincolnshire. Pumpkin smashing will also take place between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday at the Hawthorn Shopping Center in Vernon Hills, and between noon and 3 p.m. at the Wauconda Township building. Individuals will get one last chance to smash pumpkins between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Nov. 15 at the Adler Park Pool parking lot in Libertyville. New this year is the BYOB (bring your own bucket) program at select locations. Willis said those who bring a four- to five-gallon bucket can have it filled with compost for free at the skate park across from the Grayslake library, or at the pool in Libertyville.
