Persistent pumpkin problems

The use of Halloween pumpkins may have harmful effects on our environment and the world at large.

Sydney Forsyte

A stack of pumpkins ready for purchase outside a grocery store.

Sydney Forsyte, Staff Writer
October 12, 2022

LOS ALAMITOS, CA — Yes, the Halloween season is here! The time of year where people hang spooky lights and carve up jack-o’-lanterns. But while people carve up those pumpkins, they should stop for a minute to consider the harmful effects of billions of discarded Halloween pumpkins. 

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, of the 1.4 billion pumpkins produced in the U.S. each year, most end up in landfills. It can take a pumpkin up to twenty years to decompose in a landfill. During this time, pumpkins emit methane, a greenhouse gas known to have more than twenty times the effect of carbon dioxide (CO2) on global warming. Every 100 pounds of pumpkin emits 8.3 pounds of methane. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of this depressing fact, including many at Los Alamitos. Out of a group of students polled at Los Al, an overwhelming 86.7 percent said that they had no idea that throwing away pumpkins had a negative effect on the environment.

There are many things that people can do to keep their spooky decor and a clear conscience. One solution is to use plastic pumpkins. There is a stigma against the use of plastic pumpkins because many people automatically assume that the use of anything plastic is much worse than organic material. However, the website Postconsumers argues that using plastic pumpkins is justified if people reuse their pumpkins year after year. In that case, the carbon footprint would only take place once as opposed to buying real pumpkins every year that emit new amounts of methane. Of course, glass pumpkins emit even less pollution.

Another solution is composting pumpkins. Composting helps plants grow and eliminates the release of methane. It is helpful to smash up pumpkins before adding them to compost piles. A final solution is to turn your pumpkin into a DIY pumpkin planter or birdhouse. 

      All in all, people don’t have to stop using pumpkins to light up Halloween nights, but people still need to be aware that not taking the right steps can make these frightly lanterns have scary consequences.