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Catapult Jack-O-Lanterns and Shred Documents at Pumpkin Pitch 2016

Wondering what to do with your jack-o-lanterns once Halloween is over? ²ÝÁñÉçÇø and Will County have partnered to offer the third annual Pumpkin Pitch 2016 from 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Nov. 5 at ²ÝÁñÉçÇø’s main campus in Romeoville.

Participants can compost their pumpkins and gourds instead of adding them to a landfill. A document destruction service will also be available for those interested in shredding personal documents. Last year, ²ÝÁñÉçÇø teamed up with Will County Land Use Department’s Resource Recovery and Energy Division to collect pumpkins during the second annual Pumpkin Pitch.

Bring carved or painted pumpkins to ²ÝÁñÉçÇø's W parking lot. Naked pumpkins only – no candles, bags or boxes and there is a limit of five pumpkins per person.

Physics students will be offering a Catapult Pumpkin option to make the event more thrilling. Prizes will be given while available.

All the pumpkins and gourds collected will be taken to a site to be mixed and composted. Eventually, they will become a highly nutritious soil supplement, feeding future crops, gardens or perhaps a new pumpkin patch.

By composting this waste, ²ÝÁñÉçÇø is taking a great step to reducing the amount of materials sent to a landfill and once more showing its commitment to sustainable practices.

“This event reinforces what ²ÝÁñÉçÇø students are already learning from the university’s year-round composting program” said Jaclyn Boyle, facilities coordinator for and administration at ²ÝÁñÉçÇø. In 2013, ²ÝÁñÉçÇø’ main dining hall began an organics collection. Pre-consumer food scraps, which includes all the food scraps created through food prep, are now being diverted from a landfill and instead, sent to be composted. ²ÝÁñÉçÇø has composted 200 tons of food waste from its ongoing composting program.

²ÝÁñÉçÇø is a Catholic university in the Lasallian tradition offering distinctive undergraduate and graduate programs to 6,700 traditional and adult students. ²ÝÁñÉçÇø offers multiple campus locations, online degree programs, and a variety of formats that provide accessibility and convenience to a growing student population. Sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, ²ÝÁñÉçÇø prepares intellectually engaged, ethically grounded, globally connected, and socially responsible graduates. The seventh largest private not-for-profit university in Illinois, ²ÝÁñÉçÇø has been nationally recognized by The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report. Visit for further information.