Whether picking out pumpkins from a field or carving fun faces into them with friends, pumpkins show everyone it’s the fall season. What happens when it is time to say goodbye to your pumpkins, as they melt onto the porch? Don’t trash pumpkins after Halloween–smash them!
Many think that a thrown-away pumpkin will break down and disappear. Not exactly. The reality is, pumpkins are organic waste that fills landfills; releases greenhouse gas methane during decomposition; leaches water through trash piles to nearby waterways.
“Green up” Halloween by recycling pumpkins into compost at a free, outdoor Pumpkin Smash, hosted by University of Illinois Extension on Saturday, November 8, 2025, from 10:00 a.m to noon. Come to Sauk Valley Community College next to the baseball field. Park in the main Sauk Valley Community College (SVCC) parking lot, and take the “people mover” to the field, for a smashing good time! Please do not park along the entrance road.
When jack o’lanterns are past their prime, many end up in the trash. Bring your pumpkins—that are free of candles, stickers, glitter, yarn, and any other synthetic decoration—to this fun, community event for all ages! We will divert pumpkins from the landfill, where they can contribute to producing the greenhouse gas methane. Instead, participants will SMASH them with different tools, so they will become compost for the pumpkin field.
Smash stations will include a trebuchet (launcher), mallets, sling shots, pinata style, and more. When your pumpkin is pulverized, take a rest by playing pumpkin-themed games and enjoying other family-friendly activities. These will be provided by 4-H, Extension Master Gardeners, and other community organizations.
This event will happen rain or shine. No cost or registration is required to attend. For questions, contact Bruce J. Black at brucejb@illinois.edu, or call 815-632-3611.
Find the full list of Extension Pumpkin Smash events happening across the State in early November at go.illinois.edu/PumpkinSmash.
About Pumpkin Smash: Illinois Extension’s smash events are in collaboration with SCARCE, an Illinois environmental non-profit, that started Pumpkin Smashes in 2014. Illinois Extension hosted its first Pumpkin Smash in 2019 According to SCARCE, Illinois Pumpkin Smashes have composted more than 1250 tons of pumpkins in the past ten years, reducing greenhouse gas by 1000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. These events have also diverted over 300,000 gallons of water from landfills.