Chicagoland Pumpkin Smash: Saturday, Nov. 9, 2025!
NOTE: This article has been archived and may not be up to date.
It's almost time for pumpkin smashing! After spooky season, Chicagoland communities will host their annual Pumpkin Smash events on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2025, giving residents an easy way to drop off their Halloween jack-o-lanterns for composting.
Last year, more than 326,000 pounds of pumpkins were diverted from the landfill through Chicagoland Pumpkin Smash events!
Don't Trash 'em, Smash 'em!
Pumpkin Smashes are family- and Earth-friendly events that support making compost out of Halloween pumpkins that would otherwise be rotting in a landfill. The environmental education nonprofit SCARCE and the cities of Wheaton and Elmhurst hosted the first pumpkin collections in 2014. More than a decade later, the Pumpkin Smash has expanded to over 103 sites across Illinois and around the United States!
Composting pumpkins saves landfill space and it also reduces greenhouse gas emissions. In landfills, rotting food like pumpkins and other organic matter produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Landfills are our nation's 3rd largest producer of methane, following fossil fuels and livestock. (Source: EPA)
Fun fact: Illinois is the nation's pumpkin capital, producing more pounds of pumpkins than the next five states combined.
All pumpkins from the Pumpkin Smash Events are turned into compost. Compost is a supreme, natural soil fortifier used by farmers and gardeners to grow healthier plants.
How To Participate
Gather your pumpkins and remove all decorations, candles, and paint before you arrive.
Visit one of the six neighborhood events (listed below) on Saturday, Nov. 8 to compost your pumpkins .. and smash them if you dare. MUAHHAHAHAHA!
It's not required to smash your pumpkin at the event, but you may want to give it a go. Taking out frustrations on a guiltless gourd is surprisingly satisfying.
Pumpkin Smash 2025 Chicago Events
Bring your pumpkins to any of these six locations on Saturday, November 8.
Guild Row — 3130 N Rockwell Street, 9 a.m. to noon
Lake View High School — 4015 N Ashland Ave, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
LaSalle II Magnet School — 1148 N Honore St., 9 a.m. to noon
Morton Elementary — 431 N Troy St., 9 a.m. to noon
New Life Community Church — East Humboldt Park, 1651 N Kedzie, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Plant Chicago —4459 S Marshfield Ave., 10 am to 3 p.m.
Visit SCARCE for the full listing of Pumpkin Smash events.
If you subscribe to a compost pick-up service, check with your provider for their pumpkin composting policies, or just bring them to a Pumpkin Smash event.
In Chicago, you can compost year-round, thanks to the City's new compost service. Find a composting site near you and turn your food scraps into "black gold."
