ISU’s Student Sustainability Committee to host pumpkin composting event after Halloween

(Vidette Online) – The Pumpkin Composting Event is being held from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 at the green parking lot at the Illinois State University Office of Sustainability Building.

The event is being hosted by the chair of the ISU Student Sustainability Committee and senior environmental health and sustainability student Xavier Braboy.

Volunteers from the Student Sustainability Committee will be running the event and providing snacks, such as apple cider, hot cocoa, coffee and baked goods for attendees.

The Student Sustainability Committee will be partnering with Better Earth Logistics to provide the compost bins needed for the event.

Braboy said she was inspired by the way that pumpkins are usually disposed of to create this event.

“Typically, around Halloween and during the fall, we are all trying to get pumpkins and gourds for decorating, but when we are done using them, we are typically sending them to the landfill, which causes methane gas to be released because they’re not decomposing the way that they should be,” Braboy said.

Pumpkins and gourds will be accepted to be composted at the event.

“We will accept pumpkins and gourds, and it’s totally fine if they are carved as long as you take the candles out,” Braboy said. “But if they’re painted, we cannot accept them as the paint won’t decompose correctly.”

Braboy says that the goal of the event is to not only help the Earth, but to also encourage attendees to start composting on their own at home.

“People can start composting on their own,” Braboy said. “I’m really excited that ISU is going to soon have compost bins and be able to do it, but you can also start your own compost bin or pile wherever. You can do it at home and save your pumpkins or eat them since they are a food resource.”

Braboy said that she hopes people can also find other ways besides composting to help the Earth.

“I want people to think outside of the box and realize that everything we need is already here,” Braboy said. “You can be versatile with what you do and how you are trying to help the Earth.”

To learn more about sustainability on campus and events like this, visit the Office of Sustainability’s website.