When a Jack O’ Lantern Dies, Compost is Born

UMD Land Lab collecting community’s pumpkins.

Media Alert

Who:

UMD Environment & Sustainability students

What:

Pumpkin Compost Drive

When:

Friday, November 5 - Sunday, November 7, 2021

Where:

The pumpkins are being collected in dumpsters on UMD’s campus. One is at the Bagley Nature Center, 631 W St Marie Street, and the other is in Maroon Lot B, by the Darland Administration Building.

Why:

Students in Assistant Professor Teresa Bertossi’s Environment and Sustainability class are collecting the community’s pumpkins after Halloween for the second year. The goal is to keep pumpkins out of the landfill, and, as a bonus, they’re being diverted to the Land Lab. Bertossi says this saves the Land Lab money from having to purchase compost.

Organizers of the pumpkin drive remind community members to make sure candles are out of the Jack O’Lanterns and to be sure to use the correct dumpsters.