Firefighters help kids smash Halloween pumpkins — for the sake of recycling

King County event at Mosby Brothers Farm educates residents about the benefits of recycling all those leftover pumpkins

It’s the day after Halloween, and on the doorstep of millions of homes across the nation sit old jack-o-lanterns that have begun to rot.

King County’s “Recycle More. It’s Easy To Do.” campaign is taking this Halloween holiday opportunity to educate residents about the whys and hows of curbside food scrap and food-soiled paper recycling at home.

Today, at Mosby Brothers Farms in Auburn, 46 fourth-grade students brought their old pumpkins to be recycled the old fashioned way: by smashing them. Firefighters from Valley Regional Fire Authority stood on top of a fire truck ladder and dropped each jack-o-lantern onto a giant tarp.

“The average King County single-family household throws away about 45 pounds of food scraps and food-soiled paper every month.” said Gerty Coville, King County program manager. “Items such as vegetable and fruit trimmings, meats, fish and poultry scraps and bones, plate scrapings, egg shells, coffee grounds, paper towels and napkins–even greasy pizza delivery boxes–all can be recycled in your yard waste cart. If you don’t have curbside yard waste service, call your garbage hauler to sign up and start recycling.”

The resulting pile of pumpkin goo was shoveled into yard waste carts to demonstrate the sheer volume of food that was diverted from the landfill when food scraps and food-soiled paper, including pumpkin leftovers, is put in the curbside yard waste cart and sent on to a local compost facility and turned into nutrient-rich compost from Cedar Grove which is available at local hardware and garden stores.

“What better way to get the attention of residents than to throw pumpkins off a fire truck. The pumpkin smash event is a creative way to teach residents about food scrap recycling,” said Kathleen Edman, City of Auburn Solid Waste customer care specialist.

Although 91 percent of King County residents say they participate in their curbside recycling program, more than half of what ends up in King County’s Cedar Hills Regional Landfill is readily recyclable.

"We feel this is an important message and want to do our part to support local agencies like the Auburn School District and King County’s regional recycling program," said Kelly Williams, public information and education officer for Valley Regional Fire Authority.

For more information about recycling in King County, visit www.kingcounty.gov/recyclemore or www.recyclefood.com.

Find us on facebook: www.facebook.com/recyclemore.

Related information

Recycle Food. It's Easy To Do.

What do I do with ...?

King County Solid Waste