People who have pumpkins this Halloween are being told by the University of Illinois Extension office not to throw them away but to smash them instead.
This fall, many of us will use pumpkins to decorate. We may cut them, paint them or do something else. The season is almost over, though. What should you do with a pumpkin that is going bad on your porch?
The U of I Extension says that you should smash your pumpkins instead of putting them away.
Illinois Extension says that when pumpkins break down in landfills without air, they release methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. As pumpkins break down, they release water that seeps through the trash and into nearby rivers, polluting them.
Illinois Extension will hold smash events with SCARCE, an Illinois environmental non-profit that started Pumpkin Smashes in 2014, to help clean up the pumpkin mess.
Pumpkin Smash Instructions
- Collect pumpkins from the home, neighborhood, school, or workplace.
- Remove candles, ribbons, paint, and any other non-organic materials.
- Drop off pumpkins at a smash site on the date and time of the specific event. Each site may vary with the methods of smashing or depositing pumpkins available.
- The pumpkins are transported to a composting facility following the event.
One is in Macon County on November 2 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Rock Springs Nature Centre, and one is in McLean County on November 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Rader Family Farms.
