Dear Answer Man, tonight's the big night for my pumpkins, but after all the fun is over and the candles are blown out, what should I do with them? I'm sure composting is the way to go, but what if I don't have a compost pile, nor some woods behind my house in which to chuck them? -- J. O'Lantern

Yes, Jack, pumpkins make marvelous compost material -- just make sure you get what's left of the candle out of there, then chop the pumpkin into smaller chunks.

You can also chop it finer and work it into your garden soil. By spring it'll be mostly broken down.

Some cities have pumpkin recovery programs to keep the billion pumpkins out of landfills, although they're obviously not as big a problem as plastic soda bottles and AA batteries. But in Olmsted County, a good citizen without a home compost site will toss used pumpkins into the compost site at the Recycling Center, 305 Silver Creek Road N.E.

Dear Answer Man, can you tell me about the two little cars that travel around town, always together -- they are green, with the message, "Bank green" on the side. I see them around downtown periodically around 5 p.m. or early in the morning. -- Terri Gardner, Rochester

 Those cute little Smart cars are ad vehicles for Sterling State Bank, the Rochester-based bank that now has 10 offices, including four in the Twin Cities area.

The cars are painted dollar-green and promote the bank's "green" checking accounts, which are environmentally friendly, online-only accounts. A Sterling official says the cars frequently travel in tandem to make sure you don't miss them, though Smart cars remain an oddity all by themselves.

Next: The location of the former "duck pond" along the Zumbro River in Rochester is revealed.

The Answer Man is monstrously entertaining. Send questions to P.O. Box 6118, Rochester, MN 55903 or answerman@postbulletin.com.

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