3-year-old Lucas threw at the ghost. || Monica Sager Big pumpkins were thrown into the truck || Monica Sager Hundreds of pumpkins were tossed into a truck to head to composting || Monica Sager Families brought out their gourds || Monica Sager 2 1/2-year-old Henrik threw in his pumpkins || Monica Sager Children hit the Halloween-themed signs || Monica Sager Taking aim || Monica Sager All pumpkins were tossed to be composted || Monica Sager The pumpkins in the truck. || Monica Sager Residents brought their jack-o’-lanterns || Monica Sager Families tossed pumpkins together. || Monica Sager Getting an extra boost to throw it in. || Monica Sager No matter the size, pumpkins were tossed to be composted. || Monica Sager
Halloween may be over, but Swampscott pumpkins were given a second life on Sunday.
Residents tossed hundreds of pumpkins into a Department of Public Works (DPW) dump truck as part of the Solid Waste Advisory Committee’s second annual Great Pumpkin Toss.
“It’s important because roughly 25% of landfill content is organic, and we’re running out of landfill space,” said Wayne Spritz, the chair of the Solid Waste Advisory Committee. “It’s really important to divert the organic material, and composting is one way to do it.”
Each year, an estimated 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins are thrown away across the U.S. after Halloween. When pumpkins end up in landfills, they decompose without oxygen and produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
By composting jack-o’-lanterns, residents help transform Halloween leftovers into nutrient-rich soil.
The event, held at the unpaved section of the Philips Park parking lot, invited people to toss pumpkins of all sizes into the truck.
To make it more fun, the DPW built a ramp so the pumpkins could roll farther into the truck, and Spritz created Halloween-themed targets.
“We wanted to really make it for the kids this year,” Spritz said.
All pumpkins collected in Swampscott will be composted at Brick Ends Farm in Hamilton. The truck will be delivered there on Monday, Spritz said.
