U of I Extension, Rader Family Farms to host 2nd McLean Co. Pumpkin Smash to combat climate change

Halloween night may be filled with frights, but garbage day is where the real horror lurks. Discarded by the 1,000s, decaying jack-o-lanterns and rotting pumpkins are hauled off to landfills by the truckload. Every year, masses of orange flesh pile-up and break-down in our local landfills producing methane, the greenhouse gas with an environmental impact more frightening than your scariest, Boo! Luckily, this is a haunting fate we can easily fix.

University of Illinois Extension serving Livingston, McLean, and Woodford Counties will host a local pumpkin smash recycling event, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., Saturday, November 2nd at Rader Family Farms, 1312 Ropp Road, Normal, IL. 

Area residents are encouraged to bring pumpkins, carved or whole, for environmentally friendly disposal. In partnership with Town of Normal Public Works Department and Illinois State University Department of Agriculture, pumpkins brought to the event will be trucked off for composting at the Illinois State University Farm. Rader Family Farms concession vending area and restrooms will be open for this post-season event. 

Some may ask: why can’t I dump my pumpkins in a forest preserve for local wildlife? Why should they not be thrown in the dumpster at home like always?

Pumpkins dumped in forest preserves can attract local wildlife to roadsides where they can be hit by cars. If that isn’t scary enough, pumpkins thrown in dumpsters go to landfills, where they become buried by other waste. As these orange watery orbs (~90% water) break down, they lack access to oxygen. In the absence of oxygen, organic decomposition leads to the production of methane – a potent greenhouse gas. By composting pumpkins, climate change can be mitigated, water saved, and wildlife kept safe. 

“The pumpkin smash is an annual effort to divert pumpkins from landfills by providing locations for residents to drop off (and optionally smash) carved or expired pumpkins, which are then composted.” says original event creator, SCARCE—School & Community Assistance for Recycling & Composting Education. 

So, gather a group of friends, family, and enjoy a new fall tradition—obliterating an orange orb for the good of our blue planet. Come dressed for a pumpkin in clothes to get dirty in. Guests at the event can elect either to smash their pumpkins with wooden mallets in walk-in smash-zone dumpsters, or simply drop them off in an alternative, drop-off-only, no-smash dumpster if they lack the time or desire to smash.

Pumpkins brought to be recycled should be free of candles, stickers, glitter, metal, or anything synthetic and non-compostable. Pumpkins covered in water-based paints are suitable for composting.

Following the pumpkin smash, 1,000s of pounds of pumpkins will travel by truck to their final resting place—Illinois State University Farm. Illinois State University Department of Agriculture composts on-farm animal waste and Town of Normal yard and landscape waste to reduce their environmental impact and generate high-quality compost for sale. In 2023, the first annual McLean County Pumpkin Smash resulted in almost 18,000lbs – 9 tons – of pumpkin waste being composted, instead of trashed. 

This year for the 2nd annual McLean County Pumpkin Smash, there will be additional educational activities and information available for children and adults. Ecology Action Center staff will offer adult informational handouts on their local composting and recycling programs programs, and University of Illinois Extension will offer two children’s activities – the Pumpkin Lifecycle Bracelet activity, and the Pumpkin Lifecycle Obstacle Course activity.

In partnership with local towns, cities, and municipalities across the state, Illinois Extension is joining this SCARCE-affiliated event to fight climate change. Since the first SCARCE-sponsored pumpkin smash in 2014, over 1,000 tons of pumpkins have been kept out of landfills. In 2024, over 80 pumpkin smash events will be held across the state. Go green this Halloween with a local pumpkin smash. Don’t Trash It, Smash It! Learn more at go.illinois.edu/events or scarce.org/pumpkins. To learn more about composting at University Farm, call 309.438.0288.