Utah Tech University students offer a pumpkin drop-off opportunity for composting

Did you know pumpkins decompose without oxygen in landfills and produce methane gas? With the help of Utah Tech students, Avery Fowers and Chloe Furse, pumpkins were collected and taken to the composting center to help reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions and use the pumpkins for a better cause.

While collecting pumpkins, Fowers and Furse taught participants about the effects of landfill waste and what composting can do to save the environment.

"Composting pumpkins instead of throwing them away has many benefits, like giving the soil more moisture, providing rich nutrients to the soil, and reducing the number of Greenhouse Gas emissions produced by landfills," Fowers said. "Landfills are used as a storage space and don't allow for products to biodegrade. By composting pumpkins, it will allow for greater benefits and keep our world healthy."

Furse and Fowers came up with the idea as part of a class assignment, which requires implementing a project that will help the community. The inspiration for the project came from the class and allowed them to teach the community about the importance of composting instead of taking all items to the landfill.