Chicago – After Halloween, many households still have pumpkins sitting on porches and steps. SCARCE, an environmental nonprofit, is urging residents to “Don’t Trash It, Smash It!” by taking their pumpkins to one of ten free Pumpkin Smash events across the city this weekend.

How the Pumpkin Smash Works

Volunteers gather at designated sites, smash the pumpkins into pieces, and then the scraps are collected for composting. The compost is turned into nutrient‑rich material that can be returned to soil, helping keep water clean and reducing methane emissions from landfills.

Event Locations and Times

Most sites operate on Saturday; exact locations and hours are listed on SCARCE’s online map. Residents can also host their own Pumpkin Smash and register the event with SCARCE before midnight on Nov. 6 to be added to the map.

Why Composting Matters

When pumpkin waste decomposes in a landfill without oxygen, it produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and leachate, a contaminated liquid. Composting allows the water and nutrients in pumpkins—about 90 % water—to return to the soil, improving soil health and water retention.

“We don’t want to waste the nutrients that are in pumpkins,” said SCARCE environmental educator Emily King. “Keeping pumpkins out of the trash helps protect our water and reduces methane emissions.”

Preparing Your Pumpkin

Before bringing a pumpkin to a smash site, remove any candles, stickers, glitter, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, or paint. Some sites may have specific rules about acrylic paint, so check ahead.

Additional Drop‑Off Options

If you can’t attend a Pumpkin Smash, you can still bring pumpkins and other food scraps to the city’s food‑scrap drop‑off locations, which are open daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The city also requires removal of decorations and candles before drop‑off.

Second Smash Event

For those who keep pumpkins through Thanksgiving, SCARCE will host a second Pumpkin Smash on Nov. 28, 9 a.m.‑noon, at its facility at 800 S. Rohlwing Road in Addison.

Since its launch in 2014, the Pumpkin Smash has grown from a handful of events in Wheaton and Elmhurst to over 110 sites nationwide, including about 90 in Illinois. Last year, more than 400,000 pounds of pumpkins were composted at 125 sites, and since 2014 the program has diverted over 3.2 million pounds of pumpkins from landfills.

Original reporting: Block Club Chicago — read the source article.