The Halloween hangover starts today — the decorations come down, the candy bloat sets in and you have to figure out what to do with all those leftover pumpkins.
Depending on where you live, there are lots of options and some dos and don’ts when it comes to getting rid of the soon-to-be sagging orange gourdes.
If you like to see things explode, then load up those jack-o-lanterns and head over to Tillicum or West Shore Town Centre shopping malls on Saturday, where the Saanich and Langford fire departments will use their ladder trucks to drop them from 100 feet onto the pavement. Who needs fireworks?
Or in Colwood, also on Saturday, there are even more creative ways to smash your pumpkins. You can bowl them down the hill at city hall and — if your roll is just right — hit a running snowblower and blow it to bits. There is also the option of having your pumpkin fire-hosed into a waiting bin or fed into a mechanical crusher.
All these events are fundraisers for charitable causes and come with a message that pumpkins shouldn’t just be left on the side of the road to rot.
In Colwood and at PKOLS Mount Douglas Park, lining the roadways with those slumping pumpkins has been a tradition.
But while it may look colourful and kind of cool, pumpkins attract unwanted wildlife into neighbourhoods, especially bears, and bring deer and birds of every sort to roadsides where they can be struck by vehicles. Rats are also attracted to pumpkins as a food source.
And then there is the cost of cleanup — municipal crews have to spend days shovelling up the mess to take it to municipal yards for composting.
Darrell Wick, president of PKOLS Mount Douglas Conservancy, said the tradition of leaving pumpkins along the roadway or throwing them in the forest is “thankfully” waning.
Littering the area with pumpkins “does nothing to help the park,” said Wick. In addition to the danger to wildlife, the seeds can sprout as an invasive species. Worse, many of the pumpkins are abandoned with materials that harm the environment, such as metal casings of candles, stickers and paints.
Jason Adams, manager of solid waste services for Saanich, said the best way to get rid of pumpkins is to compost them to enrich the soil of your gardens. He said pumpkins add nitrogen and moisture and can be chopped up for composting bins or just buried in gardens. Or they can be put into the municipality’s green bins.
Adams said for the next several weeks, Saanich crews will be adding an extra composting truck every day on every route to handle the influx of pumpkins, as well as excess apples that fall from trees.
“It’s a lot of material after Halloween,” said Adams, adding each green truck holds about 10,000 kilograms.
Terry Michell of Michell’s Farm said his family’s Peninsula farm grew nearly a million pounds of pumpkins this year, with most being sold to Island grocery stores in October.
He said the farm does take them back, though most go to municipal recycling facilities. “We would just till them into the soil again,” said Michell.
The B.C. Conservation Officer Service said it’s a good idea to get rid of the pumpkins right after Halloween, saying the jack-o-lanterns could attract a hungry bear.
Bears are in their “hyperphagia” phase, where they have an extreme urge to eat in preparation for winter denning, the service said in a statement.
“To keep them out of communities, it is crucial to secure all attractants, such as garbage, pet food and birdseed. This includes pumpkins.”
Bring your pumpkins
Spooky Pumpkin Walk at Pineridge Park. The Friends of Sooke Parks Society, with support from the District of Sooke, is inviting the community to a special evening of autumn fun at the annual Spooky Pumpkin Walk at Pineridge Park! Mark your calendars for Friday, Nov. 1, 5-7:30 p.m., and bring your carved pumpkins to light up the trails for one final spooky celebration.
Pumpkin Smash Bash. Bring your decorated pumpkins to be dropped from 100 feet in collaboration with the Saanich Fire Department and the Saanich Fire Charitable Foundation. Saturday, Nov. 2, 12-2 p.m. at Tillicum Centre upper level parking lot near Old Navy. More at eventbrite.ca
Colwood pumpkin smash. A community event at Colwood City Hall. The event is part of a wildlife education initiative to reduce human-wildlife conflict. The city is asking residents to bring their pumpkins to the event instead of leaving them on the road, as the smell of pumpkins attracts wildlife. Saturday, Nov. 2, 12-2 p.m. at 3300 Wishart Rd.More information at colwood.ca
Charity pumpkin smash hosted by Westshore Town Centre and the Langford Fire Rescue. Bring a cash donation to watch your pumpkin get dropped from a fire engine to be mashed, bashed and smashed to smithereens. All proceeds benefit the B.C. Burn Fund. Saturday, Nov. 2, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Cineplex parking lot at Westshore Town Centre. For more information, go to westshoretowncentre.com.
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