Westmont, Illinois - Date Issued: October 6, 2022
The Westmont Environmental Improvement Committee (EIC) is once again hosting a Pumpkin Composting Collection Event on Saturday, November 5 from 9:00 a.m. to Noon at the Westmont Public Library, 428 N. Cass Avenue. All pumpkins must be cleaned free of inorganic materials such as candles and other decorations prior to being disposed in the composting collection container.
“Westmont has been providing a pumpkin composting collection program for almost a decade,” said EIC Chair Bruce Barker. "The composting of pumpkins keeps organic material out of the landfills, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and returns water and essential nutrients back into the soil. We hope that everyone who uses a pumpkin as a Halloween decoration will join us on the Saturday after Halloween so that these pumpkins can be collected and composted.”
PUMPKIN SMASHING EXTRAVAGANZA
On October 22, 11 a.m., the EIC will host their annual Pumpkin Smashing Extravaganza (PSE) in downtown Westmont at the intersection of Cass & Irving. The PSE invites representatives from local organizations to participate in a fun competition in which contestants and their decorated pumpkins are hoisted 20 feet up in the air via a Public Works bucket truck, and then launch their pumpkin through the air at a target painted on the street below. Contestants are judged on pumpkin decorations, closest to target, and pumpkin splatter. The goal of the event is to promote the composting event, which will take place on November 5.
For more information on the EIC, please visit their website at westmont.illinois.gov/green.
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