Within the vast farmland of the lower mainland, there seems to be a pumpkin patch every other acre.

Many patches focus on the Instagram-worthy backdrop with their cartoonishly large pumpkins. But excessive patches that feature massive inedible pumpkins create lots of waste.

(Kylie Paz/Unsplash)

12.8 million pumpkins are expected to be left uneaten this Halloween.

Telfer Maynard, manager of Southlands Heritage farm, goes for quality over quantity.

“What’s different about us is we don’t necessarily focus on having like the biggest and fanciest Halloween pumpkins, we tend to not have any of the big ones because they’re not very good to eat. we focus more on on putting out the edible kind so that any we have leftover can be donated.. “

Southlands Heritage farm focuses on reusing, reducing and recycling.

“1 out of every 10 pumpkins or maybe even more gets eaten by squirrels and they all end up in a pile. But then they go in the compost heap and become fantastic compost. So I think that’s a very good way of reusing what otherwise would be garbage.”

There are a variety of pumpkin patches in the Lower Mainland, but Southlands Heritage farm makes sure that no pumpkin goes to waste.

This Halloween, you have an opportunity to lessen your eco-footprint.

This year I encourage you to be mindful of your consumption by purchasing smaller pumpkins that can be reused in your favourite fall dishes or simply composting your leftover pumpkins.