What To Do With Your Pumpkins?

I just read a great blog post from A Southern Accent about recycling pumpkins. It's got some great ideas that I want to share.

The best thing to do is compost your leftover pumpkins, but if you aren't composting yet, check with your local yard waste removal & recycling department to determine if they accept pumpkins for pick-up. Some cities have their own local composting instead of heading to the landfill. Lack of oxygen in the landfills prevent the pumpkins from breaking down at the normal rate so even though they are biodegradable, pumpkins still create a lot of waste. Our local Whole Foods held a "Smash It, Don't Trash It!" event to help expose the problem and teach more about recycling and composting.

So, if you're pumpkins are starting to get a little yucky, think about other ways to dispose of ol' Jack other than the garbage can.

Be smart. Be bold. Be happi.
Molly

Scrappy Food Scraps

I recently watched a TV commercial about not putting food scraps down the garbage disposal. What!? Have I been doing something wrong all these years? If the "food waste disposal" (or garbarator according to my family from the North)isn't for food scraps than why in the heck do I have one?

I did some digging and here's what I concluded. Disposals use a lot of extra water and are DEFINITELY NOT for greasy items such as fats from meat, oils, butter and even dairy products. Even if you can't see the grease in your own sink, it will likely build along with the grease from your neighbors disposal, and cause some serious drainage issues down the road. Depending on where you live, its probably OK to use the disposal to cut up fruits and veggies but if you have the ability, composting is king. If you live in a city, think about vermicomposting--using worms to do the dirty work.

I've been thinking about composting for awhile (not so sure about vermicomposting) so I'll investigate the best systems for small yards and save that for another post. Now that I know that garbage disposals are probably not the best thing for our planet, I need to be more proactive about changing my habits. I'll let you know how this goes.

Be smart. Be bold. Be happi.
Molly