With Halloween long over, people begin to question what they should do with their leftover pumpkins.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada is urging people to not discard their pumpkins into forests or natural areas.

Mhairi McFarlane is NCC’s director of science and stewardship. While it may sound like a green idea, McFarlane says throwing your pumpkins in the woods could unintentionally result in wildlife becoming sick, in addition to others choosing to dump debris.

“Causing animals to congregate around an unnatural food source can put them at greater risk of transmitting disease, and if the site is close to a road, can increase their risk of being killed by vehicles. While pumpkins may be tasty and attract animals such as deer, moose, raccoons and squirrels they do not require additional food,” McFarlane said.

McFarlane recommends people use compost bins at home or take advantage of local composting initiatives. Composting can keep pumpkins out of the garbage and landfills. She says contacting local farms, wildlife rehabilitation centres and zoos are also great ideas as they may take the pumpkins to use for animal food or enrichment.

McFarlane says some people have unfortunately dumped pumpkins on NCC conservation lands and although organic material will decompose, it can take some time and be unsightly for others. She points out dumping anything on private land is illegal, and can lead to others dumping additional items, which may not decompose.