With trick or treating and Halloween slipping into history for another year, a huge number of pumpkins are scattered all through towns and cities in Superiorland and elsewhere, most having been carved into jack-o’-lanterns.

Unless we miss our guess, most of said pumpkins are destined for local landfills where they will join the rest of the refuse flow. But it turns out, there’s a better solution, a so-called green option that takes very little effort but can significantly support the environment — composting.

Pumpkins make excellent compost, the experts tell us. Worms will break down the pumpkin flesh and nourish the soil.

And there are a lot of pumpkins. In 2016, for example, Michigan generated 79 million pounds of them, according to Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. It’s unclear how much of that amount was tossed out and how much was composted.

For people who don’t have a compost bin or other facility, EGLE recommends contacting the local recycler to determine if they will take pumpkins for composting. The Michigan Recycling Directory lists many locations that take food scraps.

To learn more about how to compost pumpkins, watch this short video and read the Home Composting: Reap a Heap of Benefits info sheet. For additional information, go to EGLE’s composting website.

It’ll be worth it.