Greetings UTC Community. It’s that time of year again. Pumpkins are everywhere and it’s Compost-O-Ween time. You may have seen our pumpkins around campus helping to raise awareness for this event. This year it’s bigger than ever as we continue to grow this event.
Each year, over 1 billion pounds of Halloween pumpkins end up in the landfill. There it may take a decade or more for them to fully break down. To help reduce this, EDGE will again be hosting Compost-O-Ween in partnership with New Terra Compost. This year we are sponsored by Southern Squeeze and Pedego Electric Bikes.
The event will run from October 28 through November 16. We have 4 drop off locations around Chattanooga this year. On campus, pumpkins can be dropped off outside the Challenger STEM center, located at the corner of Palmetto and Mocs Alumni Drive. The cans are located on the side (Mocs Alumni Drive) near the bike racks. [Thank you to the Challenger Center for letting us collect pumpkins outside their building.] Other drop off locations are Hixson High School, the Ivy Academy, and the Woodsong Forest School. Please remove all decorations and candles from the pumpkins before putting them in the composting bins. All pumpkins collected will be composted or used as food for farm animals.
On Saturday November 12, EDGE will be hosting a drive-up pumpkin drop off outside the Challenger Center from 11 am until 3 pm. Load your pumpkins in your vehicle, drive them to us, and we will take them out of your car for you. No need to even get out.
The Pumpkin Smash Event will take place on Tuesday, November 15, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Chamberlain Field. Everyone is encouraged to bring their fall pumpkins to Chamberlain Field and smash away some stress as we head into the final weeks of the semester. We will have several blunt objects for bashing out that stress. All collected pumpkins will be composted with New Terra Compost. Come join us for some apple cider, snacks, trivia (with prizes) and composting fun.
Last year we collected just over 5,000 pounds of pumpkins and this year we aim to reach our goal of 10,000 pounds of pumpkins. Help us reach this ambitious goal.
Bring your decorative pumpkins to any of our drop off locations: Challenger STEM Center on UTC Campus, the Ivy Academy, the Woodsong Forest school, and Hixson High school. Final pick ups will be made on Wednesday, November 16.