É«ÖÐÉ«

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

Wondering what to do with your jack-o-lanterns once Halloween is over? É«ÖÐÉ« and Will County have partnered to offer the third annual Pumpkin Pitch 2016 from 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Nov. 5 at É«ÖÐÉ«’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, É«ÖÐÉ« 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 É«ÖÐÉ«'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, É«ÖÐÉ« 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 É«ÖÐÉ« students are already learning from the university’s year-round composting program” said Jaclyn Boyle, facilities coordinator for and administration at É«ÖÐÉ«. In 2013, Lewis’ 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. É«ÖÐÉ« has composted 200 tons of food waste from its ongoing composting program.

É«ÖÐÉ« is a Catholic university in the Lasallian tradition offering distinctive undergraduate and graduate programs to 6,700 traditional and adult students. Lewis 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, Lewis prepares intellectually engaged, ethically grounded, globally connected, and socially responsible graduates. The seventh largest private not-for-profit university in Illinois, Lewis has been nationally recognized by The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report. Visit for further information.