There is always something a little melancholy about the morning after Halloween. The costumes are folded away, the candy bowls sit nearly empty, and the once-proud jack-o'-lanterns begin their slow collapse on the doorstep. After all the time spent carving, decorating, and making the season your own, why let the magic end in a trash bin? Well, this is us encouraging you to give Halloween a greener ending this year!
First up: the Great Pumpkin Smash! One of the ways to give Halloween leftovers a second life is to take part in a community Pumpkin Smash. This year, these events collected old jack-o'-lanterns and sent them to composting facilities, so they can become nutrient-rich soil instead of generating methane as they decompose in landfills. Illinois Extension and environmental nonprofit SCARCE coordinated events throughout Illinois, making it easy to turn pumpkins into something that could nourish the next growing season. You can start planning ahead for next Halloween by checking out SCARCE's Pumpkin Smash locator and find participating locations near you.
For more info about the history and “why” of SCARCE’s annual Pumpkin Smashes, take a look at The Great Pumpkin Problem.
No Pumpkin Smash in your neighborhood, or you missed the event? Don't despair! You still have options! Check whether the City of Chicago has a drop-off location near you listed at chicago.gov/pumpkincomposting, ask your waste provider whether it accepts pumpkins for composting, or look into local composting services. If you have a backyard compost pile, undecorated pumpkins may be welcome there, too, provided your composting setup can accommodate them. Before dropping off your pumpkins, remember to remove candles, ribbons, plastic decorations, and anything else that doesn't belong in the compost. Consider planning ahead of time and gathering them from neighbors, schools, or your workplace and making a group outing of it next year!
A reminder about other decorations: Remember that gently-used costumes can find a second home through donation or a costume swap, or decorations can be packed away for next year rather than replaced each October. Meet up with friends to swap items from your costumes each year and make something new and creative out of items from the year before! It’s not only sustainable but also a really fun activity to do with friends. Clean treat bags and party supplies are also worth saving and reusing. While many candy wrappers and mixed-material decorations cannot go in curbside recycling bins, unopened and individually wrapped candy may be suitable for donation to organizations that accept it. For more ideas, check out this guide to what to do with Halloween waste.
One final word of caution before you send your jack-o'-lantern off on its next adventure… don't leave pumpkins in parks, forest preserves, or vacant lots. Even natural materials can disrupt local ecosystems, harm wildlife, and smother native plants. Composting through an appropriate program is a much better way to return those pumpkins to the earth.
So, as the decorations come down, the pumpkins disappear from porches, and November begins, remember that a few thoughtful choices can make sure that all of the effort and creativity you put into celebrating doesn’t go to waste!
Join LWV Chicago’s Environmental Action Committee. We meet the second Monday of each month @ 4:30 pm. Email environment@lwvchicago.org for the Zoom link.