WASHINGTON — Prince George’s County officials want residents to have a green Halloween. For the third year in a row, the county will collect pumpkins after the trick-or-treating is over, and then turn those pumpkins into Leafgro Gold by composting them.
Pumpkin pickup will take place on two Mondays following Halloween: Nov. 6 and again on Nov. 13. Denice Curry, senior environmental planner with the Department of the Environment’s Recycling Office, said you don’t have to bag your pumpkins for pickup.
“Just place the pumpkin on the curb and we’ll take them and compost them.” Curry said be sure to remove any candles or other decorations. “Anything that’s not organic should be removed.”
Along with pumpkins, other seasonal decorations will be picked up — as long as they’re organic. That would include dried corn, hay or straw. Residents should be remove any wire or fasteners attached to those decorations, Curry said.
The county has been piloting a project to take food waste and turn it into Leafgro Gold. Curry said the technology being used by the county’s program breaks down the organic materials faster than normal.
“We can take what is generally a 32-week process and reduce it to a 10-week process,” Curry said. The Leafgro Gold isn’t yet widely available — its production is part of the county’s ongoing pilot project.
Curry said they’ve gotten good feedback on the program that allows residents to keep pumpkins out of the trash. “This will be our third year — so we’re looking forward to additional feedback and maybe larger volumes this time around.”
Residents don’t have to wait for curbside pickup. They can also take their pumpkins to two facilities: the Brown Station Road Recycling Center in Upper Marlboro and the Missouri Avenue Solid Waste and Recycling Center in Brandywine.
