Will County, Lewis University team up for ‘pumpkin catapult’ in Romeoville

Will County and Lewis University will team up for their annual “Pumpkin Catapult” on Saturday morning.

The event provides an entertaining catapult for composting pumpkins while also taking in documents for shredding and electronics for recycling.

In 2023, 3,380 pounds of pumpkins were composted, according to news release from Will County announcing details for the event on Saturday.

It will be 9 a.m. to noon in the parking lot just south of the main entrance to Lewis University at 1 University Parkway, Romeoville.

The main attraction is a pumpkin catapult built by the Lewis University Physics Club, which flings pumpkins and gourds into waste containers. The pumpkin remains are reused as compost at Christensen Farms in Peotone.

The Will County Farm Bureau and University of Illinois Extension Office also will be there to offer information on composting.

The Will County Land Use Department’s Resource Recovery and Energy Division also will be there to oversee electronics recycling and document shredding.

Up to two televisions and three bank boxes of paper per vehicle are allowed for electronics recycling and shredding. No registration is required.

Last year, 6,900 pounds of documents were shredded, and 4,299 pounds of electronics were collected.